Blank Face means a Thousand Words
by reflection-image
Summary: He gave her a look of indifference but she knew better. She knew that even a blank face could mean thousands of words. Itasaku Sasorisakura minor Sasusaku
1. Truth and Lies

**Disclaimer:** Naruto, not mine

**Chapter 1**

**Truth and Lies**

Since the leader of the Akatsuki died, Uchiha Itachi, the missing nin from Konohagakure, had been declared the new leader. A competition was held among the members of the Akatsuki to determine who the strongest is. The winner would be the one who will lead them all. Of course, Itachi won. From that day on, he was proclaimed as the new leader and he would be the one to assign the different members their missions. Right now, their mission was to capture Uzumaki Naruto, a Jinchuuriki with the Kyuubi no Youko (Nine-Tailed Demon Fox) sealed within him.

"Uzumaki Naruto lives at Konoha village. We have to capture him. All of us will go there and look for him." Itachi said to the other members of the Akatsuki, who are listening attentively to his instructions, including his enemy, Sasori.

"We will go in groups of two. There are however, only nine in Akatsuki, so there is going to be one of us who will be left here." His eyes roamed vaguely around the room, never settling too long on any of the shadowy faces of his subordinates. "Sakura, you will be the one to stay." Itachi said, not even bothering to look at her and explain why he came up with the decision.

Sakura isn't really an official member of the Akatsuki. Her parents died when she was seven years old. With no one to take care of her, she left the Hidden Sand Village, not knowing where to go, and having no one pursue her to bring her back to the Sand. The Akatsuki had found her sleeping in the middle of a sand stone forest, quite a distance from the Ninja village for a young girl. The OLD leader had decided not to kill her, especially when they found out that Sakura's mother was one of the best medic-nin in the Hidden Village, and that she had inherited her skills, showing skill in that area far beyond her age. They decided that it would be best for them to take her with them and become an official medic-nin for the Akatsuki.

"No. I don't want to be left here; I want to participate in the mission." Sakura said as she looked at him straight in the eye, not flinching at the blood red pits that stared back.

"The decision is final. You will obey me, no matter what happens." His smooth voice spoke of no arguments.

Sakura bit the inside of her cheek, and kept her mouth shut. She knew that there was nothing she could say to make Itachi change his decision. He now was their leader and she must follow him.

"Now, prepare to leave." Itachi said, and everyone got their things ready. Everyone except Sakura.

"We'll leave now. Just stay here and don't go anywhere." Itachi reminded her, trying his best to make his voice sounded like he cared about Sakura when he himself was convince he didn't. The other Akatsuki members must not found out the truth that Sakura is not really his girlfriend, so he blocked all emotions to her and just went through the motions.

**Flashback**

"Itachi won. He is going to become our new leader." Kisame muttered in his harsh voice as he looked at the other members of the Akatsuki.

"No, I don't think he is capable to be our leader. We joined this for our own personal means, what ever they may be, and because we share a common goal. When we joined, we made a pack to help each other, and to all try to reach this common interest. Itachi killed his entire clan; I do not think he is capable of caring for our group the way our past leader was, or anyone for that matter. I think he'll treat us like some common peasants, with out regards to our lives in any mission, and then reap all the benefits of the goal for himself." Sasori hissed at Itachi, as he sent a icy glare at the Uchiha. He was still steamed at the Sharingan user for defeating him in their fight, and still thought he'd make the better leader. "Our leader should not be some pansy like the Hokage of Konoha, but should give thought to his colleges in this association." The others then murmured their agreements. They each had their own plans, and would not play pawn to someone who would toss their lives away like some worthless chuunin on something that would not benefit them.

Itachi glared back at Sasori, but then his eyes drifted from the Missing Sand-nin. He walked towards their pink-haired medic-nin, Sakura, and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her towards him. He rested his cheek against her soft hair at her temple, and stared coolly at the gaping room. Sakura was surprised. Sasori was furious. Everyone in the room knew Sasori liked Sakura, and were shocked at what Itachi just did.

"I am quite capable of thinking about someone other then myself. I care quite a bit about Sakura, and have so for a while. We have been secretly seeing each other for a while now." Itachi said calmly as he nearly smirked at the pissed off Sasori.

"What!" Sakura said, stunned at what Itachi had just said.

"Play along." He hissed into her ear, lips unmoving and low enough so no one else would hear it. "It will save us all a great deal of trouble."

**End of flashback**

Sakura did what Itachi wanted because she was secretly in love with him. Both of them, from that moment on, pretended that they were a couple. Deep inside, she wished that Itachi would learn to love her for real, but as time passed, he just remained cold and distant as before except when the other members were around. When someone was near, he would always show his kindness and care but when they were alone, he didn't even bother to look at her. Sakura on the other hand showed him her care, even if no one else was in the room. If asked why, she would reply because it was what lovers did, and they 'were', so she did.

Sakura watched all of them leave as she sat on a chair in their hiding place. One by one, they left the cave, until Itachi was the only one remaining. He had told them to wait for him outside, and they obeyed him, including Sasori.

"Why are you still here, Itachi-kun? The others are waiting for you outside." Sakura said as she smiled at him. However, Itachi's facial expression didn't change. His face had dropped the emotions of just a bit earlier, and was a blank stone mask.

'_He's like that whenever we are alone. He is only kind to me when the other Akatsuki members are here.'_ Sakura thought sadly.

"Please be careful on your new mission. Konoha is the place where you grew up, right?" Sakura said, worried about his safety, shrugging off her woeful thoughts. She knew that Itachi was strong enough to handle the mission, but still she wanted to show him that she did indeed care. She was the one who stayed beside him everyday, no matter how hard he tried to push her away, and she wanted him to realize that.

"I hate you." Itachi said in a calm voice before walking away. He didn't even glance at her. If he did, he would have seen those teardrops that were threatening to fall from her emerald green eyes.

"Itachi-kun, what would you do if I died? Would you miss me?" Sakura's voice shook with sadness, and a small whimper bubbled in her throat. Itachi stopped walking. Still without looking back at the konichi, he said:

"I killed the whole Uchiha clan, including my own parents and I don't even regret it. You are just a girl. No relations, and no emotions connect you to me. Do you expect me to act different towards you?" His cold voice drifted over her, and he disappeared out the entrance of the cavern.

Sakura was hurt by his words, her hand clutching at her chest as if she could physically keep her heard from breaking. Tears flowed freely down her face, and she could do night to stop them.

She, however, didn't know that Itachi was lying when he told her that he didn't regret that he killed the whole clan.

The truth is that, he didn't kill the _whole_ clan because he left his little brother alive. And he regretted every drop of blood that he had split that day. In fact, his conscience bothered him everyday. He even dreamed about his parents, how they pleaded but he was too drunk of power to head them. No one, not even Sakura, knew those things about him, and he liked it that way. It would not do to appear weak.

She also believed that he didn't want her to participate in the mission because she would just get in the way. The truth is that Itachi didn't want her to get hurt, so he wanted her to stay safe at the Akatsuki's place. When she did (rarely) leave on a mission, he constantly watched out for her, making sure no danger even glanced her way. But he wouldn't admit it to her, or to himself.

And you think that being Uchiha Itachi is easy.


	2. Avenging a Clan

**Disclaimer:** Naruto, not mine

**Chapter 2**

**Avenging a clan**

A butterfly is like a sunbeam as it drifts about its life. And, for a brief moment, it's glory and beauty belongs to our world, in our own lives. But then, it flies on again, and though we wish it could have stayed, we feel so lucky to have seen it.

**OOOOOOOOOO**

Sakura didn't know how long she had been sleeping. When she woke up, she was still alone. Itachi and the other Akatsuki members haven't come back yet, no would they be for a while yet.

She was not able to fall sleep again because of a sound she should not hear, being heard. Footsteps. She immediately stood up. She felt her heart beating fast out of nervousness. Immediately, she grabbed a kunai and got ready to fight. She is a good medic-nin and a genjutsu expert, but she is _not_ good when it comes to ninjutsu or taijutsu. How did they find this place? And how did they get past the traps? Her mind ran wild with questions.

She looked at the direction on where the footsteps are coming from and saw a pair of familiar black eyes staring back at her. Her heart rate didn't slow, and she eyed the looming eyes wearily. They looked like Itachi's eyes when he didn't have them activated, but why _were_ they inactivated, and wasn't he supposed to be gone? Her guard didn't drop.

"I…Itachi-kun?" She called out, taking a cautious step forward, her hand clutching the kunai behind her back.

Itachi didn't move a bit. A tremor ran up and down her spine, and a feeling of dread settled in her stomach.

"So, you know my brother?"

Sakura was shocked, terror rearing its ugly head in her heart. It was not Itachi's voice. It belonged to someone else.

She took a step back, and then another, the stranger taking a step forward for every inch she tried to put between them until she could fully see him in the dim light of the cave.

He had black hair and a pair of black eyes just like Itachi's when they were not in their Sharingan mode, come to think of it; he looked almost exactly like her love. The only difference between the stranger was that the hair of this person defied gravity at the back and he looked younger, around her age. Her eyes widened, if she didn't know better, she would have thought this person was Itachi's twin. But he killed all his family, right?

"Who are you?" Sakura asked, breathless as she backed herself up into a wall.

"I asked you a question first. Tell me, do you know my brother?"

Sakura was confused. "What are you talking about? I don't know who your brother is."

"You can't fool me. I just heard you mention his name." He sneered.

Sakura thought about it. The only name she mentioned was Itachi. "But Itachi-kun told me that he killed all the members of his clan. You can't possibly be his brother."

"Do you really believe that?" The malice in the voice mocked her. "He didn't kill _all_ of his clan. I am the only one the bastard spared."

"Don't call him that. You didn't even know him!" Sakura hissed, angered at the slander to Itachi's name.

The person smirked. "I know him more than you."

Sakura nearly laughed at the foolishness he was talking about, but a creeping feeling told her not to just dismiss it. For the second time, she asked him who he is. And this time, he answered her.

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke."

**OOOOOOOOOO**

Itachi and the other Akatsuki members were finished with their mission. They followed Naruto wherever he goes and they already know almost everything about him, and those in relation to him. Where he lives, where he usually stays, how powerful he was, how many missions he's been on, where he's been, and who are his friends, their strengths, and how close they were. It a tedious task, as there was much to gather, and everyone in Konoha didn't speak much about the Kyuubi vessel to any one person, which was the reason all of them had to go for such a simple mission.

That was the first step of their mission: to gather information about the blond boy.

By the days end, they had left the peaceful village, leaving no trace that they were there.

**OOOOOOOOOO**

Sakura didn't believe what he was telling her. Itachi was not one to lie, and this person could easily be one of those freak-twin things she always was hearing about. '_Everyone one has their twin_,' She repeated the saying in her head.

"Prove me that you are indeed his brother. That you are a Uchiha." Sakura said, eyes narrow.

Smirking, Sasuke activated his sharingan.

She gasped as his eyes bled into a blood red, three commas spinning slowly in each eye; exact duplicates of Itachi's. There was no reason to doubt his claim now.

"What do you want with Itachi-kun?" Sakura finally asked as Sasuke's eyes turn from red to black.

"I'm here to avenge my clan." Sasuke said as his expression turned dark.

Sakura understood what he means. Her eyes narrowing in anger. "I won't let you kill him."

"Do you really think you can stop me? What is your relationship, exactly, with my brother anyway? Why do you defend a murderer?" Sasuke asked, curious.

"I'm his girlfriend." She snapped, almost robotically. Her hands clenched around the solitary kunai, ready to defend or attack if the opportunity arose.

Sasuke was shocked by what he just heard. Somehow, he felt jealous because someone loved his older brother. No one should ever love a clan-killer.

"He is a heartless MURDERER! He doesn't deserve to be love." The youngest Uchiha spat, teeth gashing as he shook with rage.

"That's not true!" Sakura shouted back.

Sasuke had grown tired of the worthless conversation. After all, he was there because he wanted to kill Itachi; not to talk to an annoying pink-haired kunoichi.

Not hearing any response from him, Sakura just turned her back and walked away from him.

But before she could get three steps from him, he suddenly appeared at her elbow, his hand tightly around her thin wrist.

"Let go of me." Sakura said, voice strained with barely controlled anger.

"Where is Itachi?" Sasuke demanded. His eyes were narrowed in both annoyance and rage.

"I won't tell you where he is. Let me go!" Sakura said as she tried to free herself from him, but his grip on her wrist was too tight. Suddenly, a kunai, her own she recognized, was at her throat, and she stilled.

Earlier, he was given the chance to search for Itachi in the deep caverns of the cave while Sakura was still asleep in the last room he had to check. He knew she was completely alone.

"What is your name?" Sasuke asked, still holding her wrist and the cool metal to her neck.

"Haruno Sakura." She bit out, haltered for him growing.

Sasuke smirked.

"You're coming with me, Sakura."

"And why would I go with you?" Sakura asked with anger and seriousness in her voice.

"Because if I take you with me, Itachi will come after you."

"And why would Itachi-kun do that?" Sakura asked.

"Because you just told me that you are his girlfriend. If he really cares for you, he would look for you." Sasuke explained.

Before Sakura could reply, Sasuke suddenly hit something at the back of her head, causing her to lose consciousness, slumping back into his chest.


	3. Mistake

**Disclaimer: **Naruto is not mine.

**Chapter 3**

**Mistake**

Sakura woke up from her sleep, a pounding at the back of skull. She slowly opened her eyes and was surprised to find that she is not in the Akatsuki's place. Instead, she was in a large room and was lying on a soft bed with dark blue sheets.

She tried to recall what happened. All she could remember doing is talking to a certain boy whose name was… Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke.

"So, you're awake."

Sakura hurriedly sat up on the bed and looked towards the direction of the deep voice and she was shocked to see the raven-haired boy smirking at her.

"What do you want from me?" Sakura asked him.

"If I'm not mistaken, I've already told you the reason. But since you're too dumb to even remember that, I'll tell you again. I brought you here because you'll be helping me with my revenge." He mocked her with a dark grin, eyes flashing.

"Are you kidding? You'll use me in your revenge against Itachi-kun? You've picked the wrong person. Itachi-kun will never come here. He hates me." Sakura said, crossing her arms over her chest in more to relieve the sudden pang of sadness when she actually admitted to Itachi's earlier confession.

"You're just saying that because you wanted me to let you go. I will not fall for your trick." Sasuke said coldly, glaring at her. He had not met such a stubborn woman before.

"Really? You're the one who didn't give me the chance to explain. Itachi-kun never cared about me. We are only in a relationship because it is necessary." Sakura admitted.

All she wanted is to go back to the Akatsuki's place. She didn't want to stay here, in this unknown place. The Akatsuki members were her only family. Without them, she had nothing.

Sasuke frowned. She had fooled him. If his brother did not really care for her, then she was just another woman.

Sasuke grabbed her tightly by the wrist and forced her to stand up. He didn't care about what would happen to her now. All he knew was that he needed to get her out of his house. After all, she is useless and a trash like her must be thrown away.

The next thing Sakura knew was that she was being dragged forcefully out of the room.

"Let me go. You're hurting me!" Sakura pleaded, dragging her feet in resistance. However, Sasuke acted like he didn't hear her. He even tightened his grip.

When Sasuke finally reached the main door, he opened it and pushed Sakura outside, shutting the door with a loud thud.

**OOOOOOOOOO **

The Akatsuki members tried to look for Sakura when they returned, but they couldn't find her. She wasn't in the cave, or on the grounds. Not even in the near village. Soon, they had formed a group around Itachi, who calmly sat in a chair. He was the only one to not have searched.

"Itachi-sama, Sakura is missing." Kisame tried. Maybe Itachi thought she was sleeping?

"I know." Itachi said in a low cold voice. His eyes were narrow, and they glared at the wall before him. On hand idly trailed it's fingers along his lips and chin.

"What are we going to do now?" Kisame prodded.

He was silent for a bit, before dropping his hand to the armrest. "She is the one who ran away. We can't do anything about it. She doesn't know the inner workings of the Akatsuki, so we will not hunt her down and kill her."

Itachi's reply made Sasori furious. He walked towards Itachi and grabbed him by the collar of his Akatsuki cloak.

"Don't you even care about Sakura? I thought you love her. You are her boyfriend so you should be the one to worry about her the most!" Sasori growled angrily. He wanted to fight him right then and there but he knew that he could do nothing against him because Itachi was definitely stronger then himself.

Itachi pursed his lips, looking up at the furious Sand missing-nin. Despite what he had just told Kisame, he _had_ been thinking of a way to find her while it still appeared that he wasn't intentionally doing it. It would not suet him for her to die; she was one of the best medic-nin he had ever met, he told himself that was the reason.

"I look calm because I'm thinking of something to do so that we can find her." Itachi said calmly, red eyes swirling ever so slightly.

Sasori let go of his collar and walked away from him but he felt that something was off about Itachi.

**OOOOOOOOOO **

Sakura had nowhere to go. She didn't know the way back to their hiding place, her home. Sasuke took her to Konoha when she was knocked out, so she has no idea on how she ended up in this seemingly peaceful and calm village.

'_It's already getting dark._' Sakura felt the air getting colder as time passed. She doesn't have any extra clothing with her in order to keep her warm. She only had her Akatsuki cloak to ward off the chill wind.

Sakura held the cloak tighter to her to protect her from the cold. She sat herself on a bench she found in the park she had wandered into. She was tired but she kept her eyes open, afraid that somebody would hurt her while she rested. She stared at her toes through her shoes, shivering quietly. Tears burned at her eyes, and her soft pink hair curtained around her face.

"Are you alright? You're cold aren't you?"

Sakura heard someone asked her. She looked in front of her and found a girl with a unique pair of pearly white eyes staring back at her. She didn't know what to say, so she just stared. Itachi always told her never to trust strangers, especially in enemy territory.

When the girl heard no reply from the Akatsuki medic-nin, she continued to speak.

"Um... I'm Hyuuga, Hinata. Are you alone?" Hinata asked as she sat beside her. She was wearing a thick jacket to protect her from the cold weather.

Sakura just nodded her head slowly. Should she try to run away? Her right hand with drew into her long sleeve, and began a series of one-handed seals. It would be weak, but the genjutsu she was planning would stall the girl.

Hinata smiled at her. "Me too. My otou-san use always to train me because I would be the one to inherit his position as the head of our clan. I am too weak, though, so he just focused his attention to my younger sister. She is my superior in all ninja ways. I usually come here at night so that I can have some time alone, away from the glares. How about you?"

Sakura looked at the girl beside her. She seems friendly and cheerful, as if she hasn't experienced any sorrows or pain in her life. She released the built up chakra, not wishing to use any skill against this girl.

Hinata received no reply from her so she just decided to keep quiet. She smiled absently, staring off into the darkness before the bench.

Sakura felt her eyelids began to drop. She was too sleepy to even keep her eyes open anymore.

Hinata felt something hard land on her shoulder. She looked at her shoulder and found the girl asleep while resting her head there.

"Hinata-sama, where are you?"

Hinata heard someone calling her. She immediately knew that it was her cousin; she could recognize his voice anywhere.

"Neji nii-san, I'm here."

Neji followed the direction of his cousin's own voice and there he found her sitting on a bench with a girl sleeping partially on her.

"Who is that girl?" Neji asked.

"I don't know. I just found her sitting here." Hinata said.

"So, you've found her, huh Neji?" It is the voice of a man with a silver hair who appeared from behind him. Neither of the white-eyed teenagers looked surprised at his sudden appearance.

"Neji nii-san, why is Kakashi-sensei here?"

"Your father told me to bring Gai-sensei with me to look for you, because according to him, it would be safe if there was a jounin with me. Unfortunately, he was not around so I asked Kakashi-sensei to accompany me instead." Neji explained. Hinata nodded.

"What will we do with her?" Hinata said, pointing to the pink-haired girl beside her.

"Why don't you just leave her here?" Neji suggested.

Hinata frowned. "No, I won't ever leave her here. She might get hurt, or freeze to death while out here. Besides, it's rude."

Neji just sigh, shaking his head as if Hinata was trying to bring a lost puppy she knew her father would not allow her to keep. "You know very well that we can't bring her with us."

Kakashi felt their argument starting to heat up so he just decided on something.

"If it's alright to the both of you, I'll take her home with me." Kakashi said.

At first, Hinata didn't want to agree with him but as she thought that it would be better if someone would look after the girl rather than leave her alone.

"Please take care of her." Hinata said to Kakashi.

Kakashi smiled. "Yes, I will."

They all went on their separate ways. The two cousins walked towards the direction of the Hyuuga manor while Kakashi walked to his apartment carrying the sleeping girl in his arms. Somehow, he was touched by Hinata's kindness to a stranger, and that was the reason he was going this.


	4. A New Life

**AN: **I'm back again. First of all, I had been very busy with school so sorry for the late update.

This is the new chapter. Hope that you will all like it and thanks to **Mistress DragonFlame** for being my beta reader. I really owe you a lot. :)

**Chapter 4**

**A New Life**

**OOOOOOOOOO **

Itachi was sitting peacefully on a chair, his face is devoid of any emotion. No one could figure out what he was thinking currently, as was the norm with him.

"Itachi-sama, we already searched everywhere but we still haven't found Sakura." A random Akatsuki member said.

Itachi's face remained blank. "Since she's been gone for more than 24 hours, I declare her dead" Itachi said in a cold voice, as he crossed his arms in front his chest.

All the members looked at him in complete shock.

"What are you all staring at?" Itachi asked them in a calm but dangerous tone.

All of them looked away from him and continued minding their own businesses. None of them wants to piss off the Uchiha prodigy.

"Tomorrow, we will be going to Konoha to continue spying on Naruto" Itachi reminded them as he stood up and walked away from them.

Kisame saw him leaving.

"Itachi-sama, where are you going?" Kisame asked him.

"It's none of your business Kisame" Itachi said coldly.

**OOOOOOOOOO **

Sakura is standing in front the third Hokage with Kurenai beside her. Kurenai had told the Hokage about Sakura's situation. She has no relatives living in Konoha and she doesn't know the way back to her home.

Flashback

Sakura felt someone watching her. She opened her eyes and she saw a woman with long wavy hair and a pair of flaming red eyes looking at her.

"Ohayou what's your name?" the woman asked her.

Sakura sat up on the bed and she looked at the stranger in front of her. She is smiling at her. She remembered a girl with a pair of pearly white eyes talking to her last night and after that, she can't recall anything.

"I'm Haruno Sakura" Sakura introduced herself.

"That's a nice name. I'm Kurenai. My HUSBAND found you asleep last night so he brought you here" Kurenai explained.

Sakura is a member of Akatsuki but she is different from them. She had been brought up properly by her parents. When they were still alive, they taught her to be polite and be respectful to others. Sakura thought that since Kurenai let her stay for in their house for the night, she should at least thank her.

"Um…Thank you for letting me stay for the night, Kurenai-san. Is there any way that I can repay your kindness?" Sakura said shyly.

"It's nothing. I really don't mind you staying here." Kurenai said.

"Um…..I think I really have to go now" Sakura said as she tried to stand up from her bed.

"Where do you live? I'll just accompany you until you get to your house" Kurenai offered.

Sadness crept up to Sakura's face as soon as she remembered that she doesn't know the way back to the Akatsuki's place. She also remembred Itachi.

'_Maybe he's happy because I'm out of his life for good'_

"I don't have a home to go back to anymore" Sakura informed Kurenai.

Kurenai felt pity for Sakura so she decided to help her.

"I'll accompany you to the Hokage. He will help you". She took Sakura by the hand and dragged her outside the room.

"Where are you going?" Kakashi asked as soon as she saw Kurenai walking out of the house, with the girl he found sleeping beside Hinata last night.

"We're going to the Hokage's office" Kurenai said as they walked out of the door and out of the house.

End of Flashback

The Hokage patiently listened to Sakura's story, nodding his head every now and then to show that he is indeed paying attention.

"I'll try to help you in any way I can. You can live here in our village but you must promise me that you will be of service to the people of Konoha" Sarutobi said.

Sakura understood him.

"I'm willing to do everything" Sakura promised.

"Do you have any special skills?"

"Well, I can be a medic-nin here in Konoha because I have a wide knowledge about healing"

Sarutobi is quite happy. There is a shortage of medic-nins in Konoha and they really need one.

"It's settled then. You will work at the Konoha hospital starting tomorrow. Now for the place where you will stay……….." the Hokage paused, thinking of possible places where Sakura can stay.

Just then, they heard a knock on the door.

The Hokage is about to stand up when Kurenai stopped him.

"I'll be the one to open the door, Hokage-sama"

Kurenai walked towards the door and opened it, leaving Sakura and the Hokage talking to each other. She was surprised to see one of his husband's students by the door. If she is not mistaken, his name is Uchiha Sasuke.

Sasuke walked inside, completely ignoring Kurenai. Kurenai didn't say anything about it but it was quite obvious that she didn't like Sasuke's rudeness.

Sakura is busy talking with the Hokage that she didn't even bother to look at the person who just entered the room. Sasuke on the other hand, was shocked when he saw a person with pink hair talking to the Hokage. He cannot see her face because she has her back on him. He went near her and looked at her intently. His suspicion was confirmed. She is the girl from the Akatsuki.

Sarutobi is thinking of a place where Sakura can stay when he saw Sasuke walked inside.

"I've been waiting for you Sasuke" Sarutobi said, with seriousness in his voice.

Sakura froze when she heard the name, 'Sasuke'. She turned her head around to confirm if that person is really the one who sent her away.

When Sakura looked at her back, she saw Sasuke glaring at her. She immediately recognized him so she looked away from him, afraid that he might hurt her again.

Sarutobi noticed the tension between the two.

"Um…. Sakura I have found you a place to stay. You would be staying at the Uchiha mansion" Sarutobi said.

Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other then they both looked at the Hokage with confused faces.

Sarutobi just smiled.

"Sasuke I heard that yesterday, you went to the Akatsuki territory to look for Itachi. It's a good thing that nothing bad happened to you. If you do that again without informing anyone, I would make sure that you wouldn't be allowed to live in Konoha again As a punishment for what you did, you will have to let Sakura stay in the Uchiha mansion since she had nowhere to go". Sarutobi explained.

"But Hokage-sama, that punishment is too much. And why does she have to stay in my house? There are a lot of places in Konoha where she can stay" Sasuke retorted.

"It's just simple. I noticed that you know each other" Sarutobi said.

"But…" Sasuke is about to disagree when the Hokage cut him off.

"And one more thing Sasuke, You must promise me that you wouldn't do anything like that again. Going to the Akatsuki territory just to get revenge is not a good idea" Sarutobi said.

Sasuke finally gave up. He knew that there's nothing he can say to make Sarutobi change his decision. "I promise that I will not do it again"

Sakura just stood there too dumbfounded to even say something. Kurenai who is now standing beside her is also shocked but since it's the Hokage's decision, she didn't dare oppose it.

Sasuke put his hands in his pockets and walked towards the door.

"Haven't you heard what Hokage-sama just said? He told you to go with me right!" Sasuke shouted, obviously referring to Sakura who didn't move from the place where she is standing at a while ago.

Sakura thanked the Hokage and Kurenai for helping her. Then, she followed Sasuke who is heading towards the Uchiha mansion. She is surprised because Sasuke agreed with the Hokage's decision. Remember, he just sent her away last night right?

She tried to walk faster in order to keep up with Sasuke.

"Um… Thank you Uchiha-san" Sakura said.

"Take note that I'm only forced to let you stay in my house. I'm giving you only a week to stay there and after that, you must leave" Sasuke said rather coldly which made Sakura flinched.

**OOOOOOOOOO **

Itachi walked towards his hometown. He doesn't really miss the village of Konoha but for unknown reasons, he felt the urge to go there and look for his younger brother. Looking for his younger brother means looking for his own death. However, Sasuke is still not strong enough to kill him. He knew that very well.

**OOOOOOOOOO **

Naruto is standing at the bridge. Beside him is his girlfriend and teammate, Hinata. They are a part of team seven with Sasuke and their sensei, Kakashi. They are waiting for Sasuke and Kakashi to come at their meeting place for their training. They are already used with Kakashi's constant tardiness but Sasuke being late is another thing.

"Hinata-chan, what do you think happened to Sasuke-teme?" Naruto asked Hinata who is standing beside him.

"I heard that Hokage-sama asked him to come to his office today because of what he did yesterday" Hinata explained. She used to stutter around Naruto but now that they are already in a relationship, she felt comfortable around him.

"Really? What did that teme did this time?" Naruto asked.

"Kakash-sensei found out that he went to the Akatsuki's place to look for his brother Itachi so he reported it to Hokage-sama" Hinata explained.

Naruto is not that surprised with what Sasuke had done. He knew that Sasuke always trains hard because he wants to defeat his brother. Sasuke even told him once that he only lives to kill Itachi.

"I've got an idea. Why don't we go to Sasuke-teme's house to see what he is doing right now?" Naruto suggested. He is getting bored in waiting for his sensei and his other teammate.

"Hai"

Naruto held Hinata's hand and they both walked towards the path leading to Sasuke's house.

**OOOOOOOOOO **

Sasuke opened the main door of the Uchiha mansion and he stepped inside. Sakura followed him.

Sakura was really amazed because the mansion is so big and it is really beautiful.

"Um…………… Uchiha-san, Can I see Itachi-kun's room?" Sakura asked him. Since Itachi is Sasuke's brother, she is pretty sure that Itachi lived in that mansion when he was younger.

Sasuke frowned as soon as she heard Sakura mention his brother's name and he grabbed Sakura's wrist forcefully.

"Don't you dare mention that name again" Sasuke warned her. After saying that, he let go of Sakura's wrist and he walked towards a staircase.

My room is down here. You will be sleeping upstairs" Sasuke told her. Sakura just nod her head and followed him quietly. She was still a little bit afraid because of Sasuke's sudden outburst.

Sasuke led Sakura to the guestroom. Sakura went inside and she was really surprised because the room is really beautiful. Its walls are painted dark blue and there is a large bed in the middle with a chair and a table near it. A large closet is located not far away from the bed.

"Stay here. I'm going to train with my teammates and there are clothes in the closet" Sasuke said coldly as he closed the door, leaving Sakura alone inside the room.

Sakura opened the closet and saw that there are so many clothes for female. Those were the clothes of the female members of the Uchiha clan.

**OOOOOOOOOO**

Sasuke is going downstairs when he heard a loud knock on the door.

"Sasuke-teme, We've been waiting for you for hours. What happened?" Sasuke smirked. He knew that voice very well. He opened the door and he saw Naruto grinning at him with Hinata standing beside him.

"You don't have to shout, dobe" Sasuke said as he glared at him.

Sasuke is about to go out of the house when Naruto stopped him.

"Wait! Aren't you going to let us in? I've walked all the way just to come here and I'm really hungry" Naruto said while holding his rumbling stomach.

"That's not anymore my fault dobe. I didn't told you to come here in the first place," Sasuke said as he closed the door of the mansion behind him.

"Really? Are you hiding something from us teme? If not, why don't you want to let us in?"

Sasuke just ignored him. This made Naruto really angry. He wanted to beat the crap out of him that very moment if Hinata hadn't stopped him.

**OOOOOOOOOO**

Sasuke's training for the whole day is really hard and tiring. When Kakashi told them that they could already go home, Sasuke felt relieved. It is already 6:00 in the evening and he really wants to take a rest. Since he lives alone, he decided to drop by at Ichiraku and eat some ramen because he is too lazy too cook something in his house.

Naruto on the other hand, walked Hinata to the Hyuuga manor and he told Sasuke that he would go to Ichiraku later.

After Sasuke finished eating, he decided to go home. As soon as his house came into view, he was surprised to see that the lights are on. He thought a thief is inside the house. He got a single kunai from his holster and tiptoed to the door, careful not make any noise. He knocked on the door and after a few seconds, someone opened it. Not wasting any moment, Sasuke immediately appeared in front the thief and he tackled him to the floor.

Sasuke smirked. He had captured the thief. When he looked at the person beneath him, he was surprised to see a person with a pink hair. He stood up at once and he mentally slapped himself for being stupid. He totally forgot that the Hokage asked him to let Sakura stay in the Uchiha mansion this morning.

Sakura is really surprised about what just happened. She is still lying on the floor even after Sasuke stood up.

"You don't plan to lie there all night do you?" Sasuke said, trying to hide his embarrassment.

Sakura finally recovered from her state of shock and she stood up. After closing the door, Sasuke went inside. Then he noticed that his house looks different now. It is clean. He only uses his house as a refuge and he didn't clean it that much after the tragedy happened because it only reminds him of those memories he is trying to forget. He remembered how his mother used to clean their house while waiting for them to go home and a how his father would always tell him that he is proud of him and his brother.

"What did you do?" Sasuke asked Sakura.

"Do you like it? I don't know what to do so I decided to clean the house" Sakura said proudly. She thought that Sasuke would be pleased but when she saw his reaction, he didn't looked happy at all.

"I'm going to sleep" Sasuke said as he walked towards his room.

"Wait, aren't you going to eat? I looked around and I saw some rice balls and tomatoes. I don't know how to cook tomatoes so I just heated the rice balls" Sakura said.

"I am finished eating" Sasuke said, not even bothering to look at her.

Sakura just sigh. She decided that she would just eat alone. After eating, she proceeded to the guestroom. She walked towards the bed and sat down.

Earlier that morning when Sakura is cleaning the house, she found some old photo albums in one of the rooms. When she was finished cleaning, she got one photo album and put it inside the room where she will sleep and decided that she will look at its contents later.

And now, she decided to look at the album that she placed on the table near her bed earlier this morning.

On the first page, she saw a photo of a beautiful raven-haired woman. Beside him is man who has a shoulder length hair with a pair of obsidian eyes. They are holding each other's hands and they both looked happy. Sakura assumed that those two are Itachi and Sasuke's parents.

Sakura continued flipping the pages, stopping every now and then to look at the pictures. She stopped when she saw a solo picture of Itachi when he was younger. He is smiling and on his right side, stood a little boy with a spiky hair.

Sakura stared at the picture and she smiled. She thinks Itachi looks really cute when he is younger. After a few minutes, she fell asleep

OOOOOOOOOO

Sasuke is not yet sleepy so he decided to go outside.

All of a sudden, he felt someone watching him.

"I know you're there Itachi" Sasuke said.

"So, you also noticed" Itachi said as he appeared from the shadows, his flaming red eyes visible in the dark.

"Why are you here?" Sasuke asked him. He activated his sharingan and he glared at his brother.

"You want to kill me right? I'm now giving you the chance. You can attack me now and I will not fight back" Itachi said coolly.

Sasuke was not convinced. He thinks that all of this is just a trap. Itachi is not that type of person who would let himself be killed.

"Really? You wouldn't fight back? I don't believe you"

"Let's just say that I don't have any more reason to live and because of that, I want to die now" Itachi said in a calm and emotionless voice.

"I wouldn't fall for your trick, Itachi. Since when did you find a reason to live? I would never believe you" Sasuke retorted. He deactivated his sharingan and begun to walk back inside the house. He wants to kill his brother but right now, he isn't in the mood to fight him.

"I gave you the chance to kill me but you didn't do it. You'll regret it, Sasuke" Itachi told him.

"hn"

**OOOOOOOOOO**

Itachi looked at Sasuke's retreating form. Even Itachi himself, was surprised by his own actions. Going to your younger brother and asking him to kill you is such a foolish thing to do.

But then, this time he is honest. He is now prepared to die any time. After all, he had no more reason to continue on living.

Itachi walked away from the Uchiha mansion, not knowing that the cherry blossom he is looking for is sleeping peacefully inside.


	5. The Chance to Forget

**AN: **I updated hehehe

Thanks to my beta reader **Mistress DragonFlame** for this. What you said really helped me a lot. I didn't thought about those things before...Again thank you! I was really happy about what you did to this chapter. It's amazing. I'll remember what you told me.

Disclaimer: Naruto, not mine

**Chapter 5**

**The Chance to Forget**

Sasuke was all dressed up for his training that day. He wore his usual training clothes as he walked out of his room, closing the door silently behind him. He tiptoed towards the living room, careful not to make any noise. Last night, he decided that he would wake up early in order for him to sneak off from the house without Sakura noticing. Up to now, he still didn't like the idea of sharing his house with someone, especially if it's a girl.

He arrived at the living room only to find her fully awake, and he scowled in annoyance.

"Uchiha-san, I've been waiting for you to wake up." She said with a smile that could brighten up a person's day. However, this is Uchiha Sasuke we are talking about, and he was not that type of person who loved to smile.

"And why are you waiting for me?" He asked in his usual monotonous voice.

"Because, I don't know the way to Konoha's hospital. Do you remember what the Hokage told me yesterday? He said that I would work in this village's hospital because they are in need of a medic-nin right now."

Sasuke frowned. He didn't like being ordered around, but when he remembered that it was the Hokage's decision, he decided to do it anyway.

He knew, and dreaded, that people would think they were a couple if they were seen walking together, no matter the true purpose of that walk. He finally relented after a few minutes of debating with himself over the pro's and con's of the options available to him. "Ok. I'll take you there. But--"

"Thank you, Uchiha-san." She said, cutting him off. She quickly took his hand and walked towards the door, dragging the sputtering ninja after her.

Sasuke felt awkward at the sudden contact of her hand around his and he immediately pulled it away, stopping in his tracks to glare at her.

"I will take you there, BUT you must pretend that you don't know me. I'll walk ahead and you'll follow." He commanded in a harsh, no ifs ands or buts, tone.

Sakura merely nodded her head before following him out of the house.

After a long walk, they finally arrived at the large building. They hadn't talked the entire way over, as doing so would only fuel the gossipers on the

"We've arrived." He said, breaking the silence. She nodded in reply to him, thinking. She was about to tell him that he should fetch her because she doesn't know the way back to his house, but he was already gone.

**OOOOOOOOOO**

Itachi and the other Akatsuki members were preparing for their journey to Konoha. Their objective was to capture Uzumaki Naruto.

For the past two days, nothing changed with Itachi. As usual, he is still cold and apathetic but Kisame knew what's really happening. Of all the Akatsuki members, he is the one who had been with him the longest and he took note of some unnoticeable changes with him.

He knew that Itachi is a very cool person, but he noticed that he had become a bit impatient. Second, he is ODDLY quiet today, which most would have never noticed as he was a man of few words to begin with. He only talked if it was about their mission, and nothing more. Kisame wondered if it's because of Sakura's mysterious disappearance.

"Let's go." Itachi said coldly which interrupted the Shark Man's thoughts.

And then, they were on their way to Konoha.

**OOOOOOOOOO**

"Are you the new medic-nin?" a blond-haired woman asked Sakura, who walked into the reception area looking around.

"Hai." she replied with a smile, but there was still fear present in her voice. She realized that she was all alone, and most of all, she didn't know where to go after the day ends.

"I'm Tsunade, and I'm the head nurse. Nice to meet you." The woman said, introducing herself to the newcomer.

"What will I do?" she finally asked, having swallowed the lump of nervousness that had settled in the back of her throat.

"Your first patient is on room 304, and here's your schedule and information on patents. If you need anything, don't hesitate to approach me." Tsunade said as she handed her a long white folder with all the information Sakura could need through the day, with even a map of the hospital.

Sakura opened the folder she was holding and she read the first page in order to know who her first patient is. It read: Hyuuga Neji. Somehow, the surname was familiar to her. She's pretty sure that she'd heard it before.

The hospital of Konoha was only a five-story building. It was easy for Sakura to locate the room because of the map, and just the uncomplicated planned halls of the building in itself. Quicker then she would have guessed that morning, she reached the door with the number 304 on it.

She lifted up her hand to knock but stopped when she heard murmurs coming from inside the room. The door was closed so she can't hear what the people inside were talking about clearly, only vague mutters. Out of curiosity, she leaned her head on the door, hoping to hear the words better. She knew that eavesdropping was bad, but she just couldn't help it.

She heard two voices: one was deep and the other one was soft. She concluded that there are two people talking inside the room: one female, and one male. The feminine voice was oddly familiar to her, just as the suer name was of the patent.

"Are you alright Neji-niisan? Otou-san would be worried if he finds out that you're injured. What happened to you?" Sakura heard the soft voice asked the other person.

"I saw some people wearing a black cloak with red clouds on it and they asked me if I knew where Naruto was. I didn't tell them because I knew that they were up to no good. I was about to go away when some of them attacked me. Anyway, I only have a broken ankle." The deep voice replied.

"When I was walking to the outer training ground 15 this morning, I saw some people walking out of the edge of the training area. They were all wearing black cloaks with red clouds, and my suspicions were immediately on alert. They stopped me before I could report the sight to some Anbu, and they asked were Naruto was. I refused to tell them and told them to leave me alone, turning to leave. A few attacked, but I escaped. I only got a broken ankle." The baritone replied.

Sakura's eyes widened as soon as she heard the words 'black cloak with red clouds'. It can only mean one thing: the Akatsuki members are in Konoha and that her Itachi-kun is also there. She remembered what he told them before. He told them that they have to capture Uzumaki Naruto and that he lived in Konoha.

She was happy when she learned that they are in the village, but she was having second thoughts on going back to them. Sure, she wanted to see Itachi but the question is, would he be happy to see her again? Would he like it better if she remained gone?

She pushed aside the thoughts when she heard the voices once again from the inside the room.

"People wearing black cloaks with red clouds on it? Aren't those people members of the Akatsuki? I heard that they're an organization that consists of S-class criminals and missing-nin from different villages. How did you escape?" the girl asked.

"I saw a man with long raven hair staring at me and he told the others to leave me alone. That they have nothing to do with me. I think he is their leader because the moment he said those words, they all obeyed and they left me alone. One thing that I noticed is that he looks a lot like your teammate, Sasuke."

Sakura is still listening to their conversation and she heard about what happened but then she decided that it is not the right time to think about Itachi. She may be a member of the Akatsuki but she is still a medic-nin and she will perform her duty no matter what.

She knocked on the door three times and a girl with a pair of pearly white eyes opened it. She stared at the girl and realized that she was the same girl who helped her the other night. If she was not mistaken, her name is Hinata.

The girl smiled at her and she felt herself smile back and this time, and it was not a fake one.

Sakura proceeded to her work. She walked towards the guy sitting on the hospital bed and she sat on the chair in front him. She looked at his ankle and she saw that his ankle really was broken, just like what she heard a while ago.

She concentrated her chakra on her right palm and then put it above the injured ankle. Neji felt the pain in his ankle disappeared as the bone was put back into place. Sakura tied some bandages around his ankle to prevent it from further damage and then she gave him some medicine to speed up the healing of the broken bones.

After finishing with her work, she stood up and bid the two of them goodbye. Hinata and Neji thanked her for helping them.

**OOOOOOOOOO**

The day passed quickly and Sakura had tended to at least fifteen patients for that day and she was almost out of chakra. She wanted so badly to take a rest but then she realized that she still doesn't know how to go back to the Uchiha mansion, and even if she knew, she didn't have enough energy to get there. So, she sat at the waiting area outside the hospital, not knowing what to do.

**OOOOOOOOOO**

Sasuke finally arrived home after his training with Naruto and his teacher. Hinata is not with them because she still wanted to look after Neji, who was in the hospital for the whole day. He noticed that the house was unusually quiet. He had expected an annoying pink-haired girl to be there, but he didn't see her. He smirked. Now he has the whole house again for himself and he was glad that Sakura hadn't showed up. He presumed that she already went back to the Akatsuki and now he felt contented about being alone, and he went about his own privet life.

Later that night, midnight was approaching, but Sasuke was still awake, lying in his bed. He was used to silence but then, he felt different. He felt that he had forgotten something important to do. An hour had passed and it was exactly 12:00 midnight when his eyes snapped open from their closed state, and he realized that he was supposed to fetch Sakura from the hospital, that she didn't know the way to his house. He hadn't gone to the hospital, and guilt struck him hard and he soon found himself running towards the hospital as fast as he could.

It was already 12:15 when he arrived and when he went inside, he saw her sitting on a chair, still in the waiting area of the hospital near the door. Sakura didn't see him because she was staring at the floor, crying. She had promised herself before that she wouldn't cry, but she still found herself with tears down her cheeks.

Sasuke approached her at a measured pace. She lifted her head up when she heard some footsteps coming towards her. There she saw Sasuke looking at her. Sakura stared at him as if she just saw a ghost.

"I came here to fetch you, so stop crying." he finally said, voice echoing over the empty room.

Sakura wipe the tears in her eyes using the back of her hand. She was so happy that she nearly ran to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, but due to the still low amount of chakra she had, she found it hard to keep standing.

Sasuke noticed this, so he bent his knees and offered his back to her. Sakura, in return, gave him a puzzled look.

"I'm going to give you a piggy back ride." He explained, as if it was obvious.

She hesitantly clambered awkwardly onto his back and he stood when she had settled. He then proceeded to walk to the Uchiha mansion, moving as gracefully and at ease as if she wasn't clinging to his back like a baby Koala.

They were near their destination when Sakura spoke up.

"Arigatou… Sasuke-kun." she whispered in his ear as she closed her eyes and fell asleep on his back.

Sasuke smirked when he heard Sakura call him by his name with the suffix '–kun'.

When he saw her crying in the hospital, he remembered himself when he was younger. He also used to cry a lot.

He continued walking towards his house but this time, he thought, he wasn't alone anymore.


	6. Valentines Day for an Uchiha

Thanks to my beta reader Mistress DragonFlame for this chapter

**Disclaimer: **Don't own Naruto

**Chapter 6: Valentines day for an Uchiha**

"Get all this trash out of here."

"But, I really need you to sign these papers as proof that you have received them. So, no, I won't go."

Sakura heard voices arguing downstairs. She was just awoken by the noises and she decided to check what was going on.

Wearing the pink nightgown she got from one of the closets, she went out of her room and began trudging down the stairs.

It appears that Sasuke was outside, shouting at someone. She walked over to him and greeted him with a "Good morning," even though she noticed that his face held an annoyed expression. He had his arms crossed in front his chest and he wasn't looking at her.

She followed his vision and there in the front yard, she saw piles of red roses strewn on the ground. Each of it has a note in it held by a ribbon of random color that was tied around its stem.

"Sasuke-kun, where did all of these roses came from?" Sakura asked as she bent down and picked up some of them, admiring their beauty and holding them higher to her line of vision in order to gaze at them comfortably.

She got one of the notes attached to the flower and read it aloud.

_Sasuke-kun,_

_Happy Valentines Day my love._

_Hope that you would go out on a date with me_

_Love, Zallai_

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched in annoyance while the delivery man chuckled in amusement. Sakura didn't notice them because she was too busy reading.

"I've forgotten that it's Valentines day. Looks like you have a of admirers, Sasuke-kun." she said as she read another longer note and this time, louder:

_My dearest Sasuke-kun,_

_I hope that we could spend the whole day together _

_and just be happy in each other's presence._

_Happy Valentines Day_

_Your dearest cupcake,_

_Carla Jean_

Sakura couldn't take it anymore. She tried to stifle a giggle but failed miserably as she broke into fits of laughter. She tried to cover her mouth but it didn't help her that much.

"Sasuke-kun, I think you'll have a busy day today." she said in between laughs that quickly disappeared when she remembered Itachi. She knew that he never liked Valentines day just like his younger brother.

Sasuke managed to give her a blank look despite the fact that deep inside, he is fuming with anger. It took a lot of self-control for him to maintain an emotionless expression. He had gotten rid of those stupid feelings ever since his brother killed all the members of the Uchiha clan. At least, that's what he thought.

However, he also took note that this is the first time he saw her laugh and his anger diminished. It was as if the sound of her laughter had a calming effect on him.

"I don't want these." Sasuke said in a rather cold tone which made Sakura's heart leap a bit not because of fear but because it somehow reminded her of Itachi. Sometimes, she wondered how small things such as Sasuke's stoic face and cold tone of voice would make her remember his brother.

She shook her head involuntarily to get rid of the unwanted memories that were currently flooding her mind. She promised herself that she would forget him but up to now, all her attempts remained unsuccessful.

She knew all about Itachi's past. She even witnesses countless of times how he assassinated people mercilessly. Back then, she was so afraid of him, that his very presence made her shiver in fright. Of course, that is expected because she was just a child at that time.

As time passed, her outlook of him changed. She discovered that she was just the same as him. Her maturity helped her understand what was going on. He had committed a lot of crimes, but even criminals had conscience. She couldn't pinpoint what it was but there was something deep in her heart that told her that he was not the same person inside as he was on the outside.

"Um… are you all right?" the deep voice of the delivery man interrupted her train of thoughts. She lifted her head up to look at the man and gave him a reassuring smile though sadness was still visible in her emerald green orbs.

"Hai." she replied in a low voice, almost like a whisper but nevertheless, the man still heard it. Then she realized that Sasuke was already inside the house.

Her gaze fell upon the roses that were on her feet. Even when she was still young, she loves flowers especially roses. The man carefully picked up each of them and wondered what to do with them. He noticed how she stared at the flowers and he suddenly had an idea.

"Tell me... do you want these roses?" he asked her after he finished picking them all up.

She wanted to accept them so badly but she knew that Sasuke wouldn't be too pleased once he found out about it. She took note of the way he looked at the flowers disgustingly.

"Er… no thanks..." she said with uncertainty in her voice. He used this to his advantage.

"This roses would probably be thrown away. It would be a waste."

This made her give in. She decided that she would just keep them in a place where Sasuke would not see them.

"But those are for Sasuke… Is it all right if I would be the one to get them?"

"Well, you're living in his house right? It's okay, then. Just sign these papers." He handed her a pen with a black ink and some sheets of paper from his bag with his free hand because the other one was used in holding the roses.

She was about to get the pen from him when someone grabbed her wrist, preventing her from laying her hand on it.

"I told you I don't want those." It was Sasuke. She thought that he had already gone inside the house but it turned out that he was standing behind the door, listening to their conversation.

"It is the duty of a ninja to fulfill their mission right? Well, it is also my duty as a delivery man to deliver things and make sure that they are received by the persons to whom they are addressed to." He gave and indignant glare at the dark-haired male.

Now, Sasuke was extremely annoyed at this man.

"Fine. I'll take them but let me tell you, I will only throw them away." he retorted while controlling himself from punching him. He decided to accept them just to stop him from annoying them further. Well, he had other options like, he could just beat him into a pulp or drag him away from their house but if the Hokage knows that he did it to an innocent delivery man, he would not be too happy.

The man smiled and handed him the papers and he unwillingly signed them with shaking hands.

After that, the man finally handed them the roses and went away, humming a tune and with a grin plastered on his face.

Now, Sasuke was stuck with some roses. He looked at them, unsure of what to do.

"Sasuke-kun, what will you do with those?" Sakura asked, curiously.

"I'll throw them away." he said simply as he walked away from her and into the house.

She wanted to tell him that she would just take the flowers if he didn't want them but she just stood there with her head bowed down.

When he was about to go inside, he turned his head to look at the girl. He couldn't see her face because she was looking at the ground so that her bangs were covering her face. He couldn't see her expression but he could tell by instinct that she was sad.

Sasuke knew that something was wrong with him when he let himself be affected by this girl's emotions.

"I believe you need to go to the hospital today." he reminded her. This made Sakura lift her head up to look at him. Her emerald green eyes looked dull. She slowly walked into the house and towards her room where she took a shower while Sasuke stayed downstairs.

……………….

"Ohayou Hinata-chan!" Naruto greeted her with his voice full of enthusiasm and excitement. He was standing in front her house, waiting for her.

Hinata gave her a small shy smile before going out the Hyuuga manor. It was Valentines day and as usual, Kakashi canceled their training for that day because he would be spending the day with his wife, Kurenai. Their sensei was among the high-ranked jounins who always get assigned to dangerous S-class missions and as much as possible, he wanted to spend a good quality time with his wife whenever he had the chance because a shinobi can die anytime in the mission or in the battlefield.

"Ohayou Naruto-kun," she greeted back. She was not stuttering anymore because she has gotten used to him.

They have a date that day. It was memorable for both of them because it is their first valentines day together. Just when they are about to go, Hinata remembered about what Neji told him. Suddenly, she became afraid.

"Um... Naruto-kun, let's just put this date off for another day," she told him with a sad look in her pearly white eyes. She wanted to be with him in this special day but she knew that his life is in danger. Who knows what could happen when they met the Akatsuki members.

Naruto sensed her sudden change. She was just smiling at him a moment ago and now she looked pale.

"Don't worry Hinata-chan. I wouldn't let them hurt you or any one of us." he said as if he is reading her mind.

She gave her a curious look and wondered how he found out.

"Did Neji nii-san told you?"

Naruto nodded his head and put his arms around her .

Hinata and Naruto walked hand in hand towards the Konoha amusement park. They were supposed to enjoy this moment but both of them felt afraid. Hinata is afraid for his boyfriend because he might get attacked by the Akatsuki Naruto, on the other hand, was afraid because Hinata's life might get in danger because of him.

The Hokage knew all about what happened so he sent some of the best jounins in Konoha to look after the couple's safety. He didn't tell them that because he was pretty sure that they wouldn't like it if they would know that they are being watched by others while they are on a date.

But Itachi was smart. He planned to attack later in the night because he knew that it would be to their advantage.

………………..

Sakura was all dressed up for that day. She went down and saw Sasuke sitting on the couch, waiting for her.

She looked at him and noticed that he wasn't holding the roses anymore. She looked around the living room and found no trace of red. She assumed that he did threw those roses just like what he told her. Well, she didn't really expect him to keep them.

"Let's go." he said as soon as he saw her. He went out of the house and Sakura followed him.

"Walk beside me." his voice sounded as if he was commanding her.

"Why?" she looked at him, expecting an explanation.

"To get rid of my fan girls." he said simply.

Sakura went beside him and they walked side by side though she wasn't really happy about it.

As they passed by the streets, she heard some people whispering among each other and they were all females. She could even feel some of them glaring at her.

She was beginning to get pissed off at them. They are not even couples. They are just walking beside each other and yet these females are looking at her as if she's an enemy.

She was relieved when the Konoha hospital finally came into view.

"I'll come back later." Sasuke said as he disappeared within the blink of an eye. Sakura walked towards the hospital, with hope in her eyes.

She had finally decided that he would forget Itachi and move one. She thought it would be easy because he is not with her.

She doesn't know that he was just near her and that they were about to see each other again **soon**.

……………………..

The Akatsuki members stayed in a forest near the Konoha village while preparing for their mission later. Some were talking while the others remained quiet, holding their weapons with them. Itachi sat on one of the tree branches with eyes closed. To him, it was unusually quiet. He never really treated the members of Akatsuki as people who were close to him. Kisame talked to him sometimes, but he never treated him as a friend.

He remembered how he used to hate the annoying noise made by a certain pink-haired girl. He hated how she constantly bothered him.

But, this deafening silence was bothering him too much. Something was missing, and he was loathed to admit what it was.

He would do anything just to bring that annoying voice back. He would do any thing just to find her and bring HER back, if only he knew where to start looking.

"Itachi-sama, you called for me?" a deep voice interrupted him from his thoughts. He looked down and saw that it was Sasori.

"Yes... I want you and Deidara to go to Konoha to know where Naruto will go later." he commanded. Sasori went over to Deidara and told him about it while Itachi remained in his position.

They finally get to work but they left their Akatsuki cloaks behind to avoid getting attention from other people.

They decided to go on their separate ways. Deidara will look for their target in Konoha's public areas such as the hospitals, restaurants, and shops while Sasori went towards the residential area.

………………………….

Sakura was dismissed early because there weren't a lot of patients on the hospital that day. Normally, if a person was dismissed early from work, he would be happy because he can take a rest, but not her. She enjoyed being in the hospital because she always talks to the patients and the nurses there.

She decided to wait for Sasuke beside the main door of the hospital.

When she went down, she was surprised to find him there. He didn't really showed up until late in the evening. It turned out that Sasuke trained alone for that day because his sensei and teammates were all busy. He decided to go home early since he had nothing to do.

Sakura looked at the clock. It read: 4:00 in the afternoon. She approached Sasuke who was leaning on the wall with his hands crossed in front his chest. He seemed to be in deep thought but he snapped out of it when she finally managed to walk to his side.

"You're early," he simply said as he eyed her for a moment before turning his back on her and walked towards the door.

"Let's go."

They both walked out of the hospital. Sasuke walked first with Sakura trailing after him, maintaining a reasonable distance from each other.

It was when they come across the Yamanaka flower shop that Sakura stopped walking because she caught a glimpse of red roses displayed behind a transparent glass.

Sasuke felt that no one was following him any more. He stopped walking and turned his head to look behind him. There he saw Sakura looking at something. He walked closer and he noticed that she was in front the flower shop, looking longingly at the red roses on display.

Sakura had always dreamed about Itachi giving her roses for her birthday or any other special occasion but it seemed like it was going to remain in her dream forever since she believed that she would never see him again.

"You want those?" she was surprised that Sasuke asked her all of a sudden.

"Um, no... I'm just looking at them." Sakura lied.

"Then you're just wasting your time looking at them." he resumed walking and she followed him, not wanting to get lost.

………………………….

Sakura and Sasuke finally reached the Uchiha mansion.

She was to go inside when he stopped her.

"Wait for me here." with that said, he went inside the house.

He came back with roses in hand.

He extended his hand that was holding the roses as he averted his gaze away from her. This earned him a confused look.

"Just take it." he said a little annoyed at her reaction.

"I thought that you threw them away this morning."

"I'll throw them away now, if you don't accept them." he replied.

She slowly accepted them graciously but then she was still wondering why he gave her those roses.

"Arigatou…Sasuke-kun…. But why did you gave me these?" She was really curious because first of all, they hardly knew each other. Second, she is a member of the Akatsuki, which means that she has connections with his brother whom he really hates. And last but not the least, he told her that he didn't like her and that she's annoying.

"Because I'm the reason why you lost something important and I want to give it back to you."

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows in confusion at what he just said. It's impossible because she couldn't remember that he stole something from her. Then she realized that Sasuke was already far from her. She looked at the bouquet of roses in her hand and she smiled before following him towards the Uchiha mansion.

What she didn't noticed is that Sasuke saw her smile and he looked away before she can see him.

'_It was worth it all. Her smile was back.'_ Sasuke thought as he smirked inwardly at himself.

He was the reason why she stopped smiling and he finally succeeded in giving it back

to her.

He felt warm on the inside, but worried as well.

This time, he really knew that something was wrong with him.

They don't know that someone was watching them from afar and it was none other than Sasori.

They were asked by Itachi to look for Naruto but when he passed by the mansion, he saw a flash of pink in the corner of his right eye. He hid his chakra and decided to check it out. He was shocked when she saw her. At first, he didn't believe it but when he looked closer, it was no doubt that it was really Sakura. Thoughts ran in his head. How did she end up in Konoha? And why is she with a male? Why did he look so similar to Itachi?

He felt happy that he found her. He wanted to come near her but he stopped when he saw a certain raven-haired boy giving her some flower, roses to be exact. He knew roses were her favorite.

He had no plans of telling Itachi that she finally found Sakura. He would keep this a secret because he wanted her all to himself.

He would not approach her yet but he took note of the house where she came in before finally disappearing into thin air.


	7. The Meeting

**AN: **Thanks to my beta, Mistress DragonFlame for editing this chapter and for making things sound right :)

**Chapter 7**

**The Meeting**

"There will be two groups. One will be for the offense and the other for defense."

Itachi eyed all the Akatsuki members closely to make sure that they understood every word he said, before finally continuing with the plan when he was certain they all did.

"The first group will go straight to Naruto's house. The others would stay here and would act only when something went wrong like when the first group failed to get back in time."

All of them nodded their heads at the plan, not seeing anything wrong with it. It''s been a long time since they last embarked on a mission and truth to be told, they were quite eager to perform the task at hand.

"Deidara and Zetsu will stay with me. Sasori and Kisame, take charge here." Itachi said it short without beating around the bush. One of the things he hated about being the leader is that he's obliged to talk and explain the plan to all the members of the organization.

Kisame smirked. He already saw that one coming. Sasori on the other hand, furrowed his eyebrows as he pretended to be annoyed with their leader's decision. The truth was that he was glad because he wasn't placed in the same group as Itachi. That means he had the chance to sneak out and go somewhere else while the first group did their mission.

"Sasori, are you listening?" Kisame called his attention when he noticed that he was out of his mind.

Sasori looked at him and nod his head slowly. He didn't want him to suspect a thing because he knew that the shark man was loyal to Itachi.

"Let's go." they all heard Itachi say. With that, the first group followed their leader as he led the way towards Naruto's house. The second group, on the other hand, was left in the forest.

Sakura couldn't sleep. She was staying in the Uchiha mansion for three days already but she still wasn't used to the surroundings. Since she couldn't sleep, she decided to get up and go outside to feel the cold air and also to kill time.

When she went downstairs, she saw Sasuke lying on the couch, wide awake and looking blankly at the ceiling. All she wanted was to be alone so she decided to go back upstairs to avoid him. However, it was too late because he already felt her presence.

"I know you're there." he stated calmly, his obsidian eyes still glued to the ceiling.

"Um… I planned to go outside--" Sakura started but was cut off by him.

"You'll never see him again." his words definitely caught her attention.

"What do you mean? What are you talking about?" she asked, though she already has an idea of who he was talking about.

"Itachi..." only one word was enough to make her turn pale.

"The Hokage found out that the Akatsuki is after Naruto so he sent some of the most skilled ANBU members to guard his house." he continued, not caring about what Sakura's reaction will be.

"You mean that they're going to kill Itachi-kun and the others?"" He heart began to beat faster as she waited for his reply.

…………………………….

Sasori stood up from where his group were sitting and started to walk away from them.

"Where are you going? It's not yet the right time. Itachi told us that we would only follow them if they wouldn't come back right on time and since he's our leader, we must follow him." Kisame said, frowning at the ex sand-nin.

"I'll just take a walk. After all, you won't be needing me for a while, right?" he didn't wait for him to reply because he already disappeared in thin air. Using his skills as a shinobi, in just three minutes, he reached the place where he saw Sakura earlier that evening.

……………………………..

"Naruto is with Jiraiya now in another place. They wouldn't find him there. Instead, they would find skilled ANBU members especially trained to assassinate S-class criminals."

As soon as Sakura heard those words, she felt her world stopped. Her first reaction took hold: she ran towards the door with the intention of going to Naruto''s house and save Itachi's life. She knew that she shouldn't be worried because he is strong enough to take down some ANBU members especially with the other members of the Akatsuki but she still wanted to be there for him.

"Do you even know the way to Naruto's house? And in case you know, do you even think that he would be glad to see you there? I highly doubt that."" Sasuke said as he smirked.

She stopped in her tracks in front of the door, and turned around only to see Sasuke standing right behind her. He watched with satisfaction as hopelessness was seen in her eyes. For the past years of becoming a loner, he had learned to love the look of despair in other people.

"I don't care. Just tell me where Naruto's house is!" she almost shouted at him.

"No." he said firmly.

"If you won't tell me, I will find it out for myself." with that, Sakura went out of the house, leaving a bewildered Sasuke behind. Honestly, he was amazed on how this young woman showed too much devotion on his brother when he doesn't even deserved it.

He didn't know why but he just found himself going after her. It seemed as if his feet moved on its own. He ran after her and grabbed her wrist before she could even reach the gate.

But then, he was not prepared for the next thing that he saw.

There in front the gates of the mansion stood a certain red-haired man wearing an Akatsuki cloak and he was not looking at him. Instead, he had his eyes fixed on the pink-haired kunoichi he still held by the wrist. A slow smirk grew on the stranger.

……………………………………..

"Damn." Itachi cursed when he realized that they were being surrounded by some ANBU. He half expected that it their plan would fail so he was not really that surprised.

Both Zetsu and Deidara got into their fighting stances except Itachi who just stood there, unmoving.

"I don't think we should still waste our time here fighting some weak ANBU members." he said with an uncaring voice. He was wrong though because those were skilled ANBU members. One of them who was pissed off with Itachi''s arrogance lost his cool and began charging towards him with the intention of engaging him in a hand to hand combat.

Sure, they were skilled ANBU members but none of them was prepared for what Itachi was about to do.

The prodigy whose sharingan eyes were already activated changed its appearance. At first, it only had three swirls but it soon changed, revealing the infamous mangekyou sharingan. With this he used the Tsukuyomi (God of the Moon Technique) to create a powerful genjutsu.

A few seconds later, three ANBU members lay in front the apartment. They were still alive but the technique was too much for them for Itachi used it to make them remember their most painful memories. He already used it to his younger brother before.

"We have no more business here. Let's go." they all walked away from the scene.

Itachi wouldn't admit it but his chakra was greatly diminished because of the technique.

…………………………………

Sakura couldn't believe who she was seeing right now. There in front of them stood Sasori.

She and Sasori were quite close. If Itachi is the member of the Akatsuki who is closest to her heart, Sasori was next to him. He had always been kind to her and he seemed to understand her.

It was obvious that he liked her. All the Akatsuki members noticed it except for Sakura herself. All these years, she remained oblivious to the young man's feelings because she just focused all her attention on Itachi.

"Who are you?" Sasuke asked venomously as he glared at him. He was still holding Sakura's wrist and he showed no signs of letting her go. Sasori noticed this, and his smirk melted into a glare.

"I was supposed to be the one asking you that. How dare you hold Sakura with your filthy hands!" Sasori growled as he walked closer to them.

Sasuke was taken aback which caused him to loosen his grip on Sakura's wrist. She saw this a chance to escape. She struggled under his hold and finally was able to break free. She knew that Sasuke wouldn't harm her. In fact, she wanted him to be her friend because he had been kind to her the past days, even letting her stay in his house when they don't even know each other. It's just that he was preventing him to go and see Itachi.

She ran towards Sasori. When she managed to reach him, he pushed her behind him protectively.

"Did something happened? Did he hurt you?" he asked, unable to hide the worry in his voice.

She shook her head.

"No. Sasori-kun, he didn't d--" Sakura was cut off when Sasori suddenly took her into a passionate embrace, burying one of his hands into her pink tresses while the other snaked around her waist. He trailed his lips along her neck quickly, possessively.

Now that he found her, he wouldn't let her go.

Sakura was really shocked that she didn't know how to react as she made no move or attempt to return the lover's embrace. Sasuke, who saw the whole thing, was also surprised. For odd reasons, he felt an overwhelming pain in his chest and he was pretty sure that it wasn't a pain he got from training too much.

………………………………………

"Where's Sasori?" Itachi asked Kisame. They had finally come back from Naruto's apartment when he noticed that someone was missing.

"He told me that he would take a walk." Kisame replied, worried that Itachi might punish him for letting him go.

Itachi became suspicious. Sasori would never leave a certain place just to take a walk. He began to think that he was hiding something from him. But what could it be?


	8. Place of Death

**AN: Thanks to my my beta, Mistress DragonFlame and to all my reviewers...I am late in posting this because of bad internet connection :)**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto

**Chapter 8**

**Place of death**

A ninja should always remain in control, especially when it comes to his feelings. That is one of the important things he learned from his experiences as an Akatsuki member. Emotions are hindrances. Power is the ultimate goal. He had learned to keep all these things in mind.

But then, why was he doing this? Sakura asked herself. Sasori had always been helping her but never once did she label those actions as his way of showing his affections for her.

This kiss, it was intoxicating and aggressive. She could feel the pleasure ran down her spine when he expertly ran his fingers on her back. Her mind screamed that all of this was wrong. She wasn't supposed to feel like this in another man's arms. She needed to push him but she felt herself grow weak because of the kiss and all the sensations she was feeling.

"Sasori," her soft voice snapped him out of his reverie. He unwillingly pulled away from the bruising kiss but he didn't let her go of her waist. How the hell can she talk with him kissing so forcefully, as you've implied?

His gaze was focused on her lips at first and then it landed on her emerald eyes.

"Please let go of me." Sakura pleaded. He could see fear and confusion blatantly written on her eyes. Carefully, he let go of her as he reverted back to his old emotionless self.

"Forget about that. I wouldn't do it again. Just come back." He said, referring to the kiss.

Sakura was really confused at this point. Slowly, she took a step backwards away from him, not breaking their eye contact until she bumped into Sasuke's chest.

It surprised her a bit. She had almost forgotten that Itachi's younger brother was still there, watching them. For unknown reasons, at the moment, she felt safer with Sasuke rather than with Sasori, even if she had known him longer.

"Please leave," she said, a little too calm for someone who's afraid.

"But… Sakura…." Sasori started but he didn't know what to say next.

"I said leave. I don't want to repeat myself," she said, in a louder voice. As much as possible, she didn't want to shout at anyone but this situation was just different. She didn't want to be touched like that by any man without her permission. She already made it clear that she belonged to the one and only Uchiha Itachi.

Sasori didn't budge from where he was standing. He just looked at her blankly.

"She told you to leave. Right? I don't care about any of you but I prefer that you leave right away. I don't want another Akatsuki member near my house." Sasuke stated calmly. Sakura gave him a surprised look. He was the last person he expected to defend her but here he was, standing against Sasori for her.

He looked at the two of them. A few days had already passed since he saw her and she still looked as healthy as before. She had no wounds or bruises. A sign that Sasuke didn't do anything bad to her. Maybe it's a good thing to leave her there for a while since he already knew that nothing bad would happen to her. But still, he couldn't be sure. She was with a total stranger. However, he figured that it's better for her to be with a stranger who wouldn't harm her than for her to go back with him in the Akatsuki camp and see Itachi again.

He finally came to a conclusion after weighing the advantages and disadvantages. He wanted to take her with him back to the Akatsuki camp with the others but if he took her with him, she would see the older Uchiha again. His chance to make her fall for him would be less with Itachi around.

He would get her next time but for now, he needed to gain her trust.

"If that's what you want, Sakura, I'll leave for now but I'll return." He said with a smirk as he backed away and walked away from them. It was dark and his midnight black cloak seemed to camouflage the major color of the surroundings.

Sakura watched him disappear and she couldn't tell whether it was relief or regret she felt when he left.

She didn't realize that she was standing there for too long until she heard Sasuke talk. "You're standing there for a long time already. Are you planning to sleep there? Get inside." He commanded. As always, his voice was still devoid of any emotion and this made him sound so much like her Itachi-kun. She wondered whether he was worried about her, but she concluded that he was just doing it because the Hokage told him to do so.

She began to walk towards the house. When she reached the door Sasuke held up his hand to make a number two sign.

"You're staying here for two days. Five days to go and you'll be out of here."

Sakura gave him a fake smile. "Yes, Sasuke-kun, I understand that perfectly well." With that, she went inside the mansion. Now, she had another problem, where to stay after the next five days are over.

……………………………………..

Kisame looked around. If his calculations were correct, Itachi had been away for approximately thirty minutes. He was leaning on a rather old tree as he clutched his weapon tightly, ready to kill any enemy that might come. He looked at his weapon's blade. It was sharp and it was glittering in the moonlight.

The other Akatsuki members were sitting on a tree stump. The others didn't care about any one and continued doing their ownbusinesses. One of them was even sharpening his kunai with a malicious look in his face.

Kisame watched them with interest. Who wouldn't? It was certainly fascinating how individuals with different characters could form an organization with the same goals.

When he heard the vague sounds of footsteps that seemed to blend with the rustling of the leaves, he knew it was already them that were coming. All of them in the organization were trained to be extra sensitive to sounds.

Sasori hasn't come back yet. Kisame clenched his fists. He didn't want to be Itachi's outlet of anger. He should have stopped Sasori when he had the time. If he did, he wouldn't be feeling a bit queasy right now. He was not afraid of the Uchiha. No. He was afraid of what the prodigy would do if he found out that one of them dared to disobey his commands.

Familiar shadows came into view. They leaped from tree to tree in swift motions until they finally reached the area where Kisame and the others were stationed.

"Itachi-sama, you're early." Kisame stated, with the intention of distracting him. He looked straight into pools of red.

Itachi didn't seem to listen to him as he looked around, trying to find someone.

"Someone's missing. Where's Sasori?" he asked in his usual monotone voice.

"I'm just here." Someone blurted out from the shadows. Sasori went towards them to make his presence known. He hadn't expected that the Uchiha would be back so soon. It's a good thing that he decided to come back immediately.

"Where did you go?" Itachi asked as he eyed him. No one could tell whether he was upset or angry. Even his eyes held nothing.

No one said anything. There was a deafening silence that followed. Only the soft humming of branches and the rustle of leaves could be heard.

"Answer me." He demanded but still his voice was not forceful. It was still calm and cold.

"I just took a walk." He said in a cynical tone.

His lame excuse seemed to satisfy Itachi enough. He could tell because he stopped asking him but still, he was confused. Itachi would normally never be satisfied with such unconvincing words.

"We would be staying here for a while to gather information about Naruto's whereabouts." He said before walking towards a nearby tree.

………………………………………………

The first rays of the sun greeted Sasuke when he woke up. When he was a child, morning always makes him happy. Now, he only sees the morning as the start of another training day.

He did his morning routines. It was just an ordinary day but there's something unusual about it. When he was finished, he went ownstairs. He half expected to be greeted 'good morning' by a certain pink-haired kunoichi, but she was nowhere in sight. So that's why he felt different. He had grown quite use to the female voice that always engulfed the house and without it, he felt as if something was missing.

His gaze fell on the living room table. There was a small paper on it. Curiosity filled him as he walked towards it. Something was written there.

_ Sasuke-kun,_

_ I've decided to go to the hospital earlier than_

_ usual so that I would still have some free time to look for an apartment of my_

_ own. I wrote this letter so that you wouldn't be worried about me._

_ Sakura_

Sasuke sigh. That girl, what made her think that he's going to worry about him? She was really annoying he thought.

He folded the letter and put it in his pocket before walking out of the house.

………………………………………..

Sakura was humming happily to herself when she saw a familiar person walking. She had a pair of white eyes and she has short hair. She was the one who helped her before. If she was right, her name was Hyuuga Hinata.

She stopped in her tracks to look at her. The girl also noticed her because she too, stopped walking.

"Um…you're Sakura. Am I right?" the timid girl asked her.

Hinata smiled at her and Sakura smiled back.

"Yes." Sakura replied as she took a step closer towards her. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"I'm going to the Hokage's office to ask her about Naruto's condition." Hinata said as she fidgeted her fingers.

Sakura placed her chin on her hand in a thinking position. The name 'Naruto' sounded familiar. She swore she heard that name before. That's when she remembered what Itachi said about their recent mission. They were supposed to look for a certain person by the name of Naruto. So that's the reason why Sasori and the others was there in Konoha.

"Is Naruto your teammate?" she asked bluntly.

Hinata looked down at the ground. "He's my boy friend." She almost whispered her answer. She could feel that Sakura was a good person so she thought that maybe it was all right to tell her that.

Sakura felt her heart hurt. Hinata did not hesitate to help her even if she was a total stranger and she wanted to return the favor. Now, she felt as if she had the obligation to protect Naruto from the other Akatsuki members. If she didn't, he would be caught and Hinata would definitely be sad. What a nice token of appreciation, her inner self told her sarcastically.

"About Naruto, where is he?" she asked.

Hinata tilted her head upward to look at her. "He is with Jiraiya-sama. They are training in the mountains." She replied.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. She had heard of Jiraiya. He was a popular and powerful ninja. He could protect Naruto.

"The Hokage prevented the people from going to the forest because a news reached him that the Akatsuki members are staying there. They really wanted to get Naruto," Hinata added in a sorrowful tone.

Sakura felt her heart beat faster. She couldn't tell whether it was nervousness or anticipation she felt. It was somewhere in between.

"Hinata, could you please accompany me to the forest?" she pleaded. She told herself that she would forget about Itachi but now, she suddenly had this strong urge to see him again. It was confusing.

She shook her head. "I'm sorry, Sakura but I couldn't." She was afraid that they might come across some Akatsuki members and they would hurt her and Sakura.

"Just the directions. Please." She nudged her side. She would never let her leave unless she tells her where the forest is.

Hinata began to take the first few steps to get away from her but Sakura stopped her before she could even go any farther.

"Listen Hinata. If you don't tell me where the forest is, I would ask other people for directions. It would not make any difference. Whether if you give me directions or not, I would still find a way to go there. Now, you could make my life easier by volunteering to tell me."

Hinata avoided her gaze. "Why do you want to go there? You might get hurt."

"Trust me please. I couldn't tell you my reasons but I hope you would understand that."

Hinata's eyes seemed to light up with understanding. She had only known Sakura for a short time and she doesn't know anything about her yet. Maybe it was really important for her to go to that place. She would never know.

"Go straight then turn left at the second corner. It would lead you straight to the Hokages' monument. From there, you would be able to see the forest." She finally said.

Without wasting any moment, Sakura ran towards the direction Hinata pointed at.

'Please stay safe, Sakura' she whispered to herself as she looked at her retreating form. She would never forgive herself if something bad happens to her.

…………………………………………………..

The Akatsuki members took turns in sleeping. They are S-class criminals but they knew better than to hurt any members of the organization. They worked together.

They were still in the same spot from last night. All of them were on alert mode. The other three were sleeping since it was their schedule to sleep after staying awake for the whole night.One of them was Sasori. He was sleeping on one of the tree branches. He had his two hands under his head. The other two were sleeping while leaning on a tree while sitting down.

That's when Itachi sensed someone approaching them. He knew perfectly well as to whom that chakra belongs to. The others didn't seem to sense it for it was very faint.

"Stay here. I'll just look for something." He commanded the others before he disappeared and jumped swiftly from tree to tree.

……………………………………..

Sakura followed Hinata's directions. She was standing in front the monument. She was happy when she saw the forest just across her. She walked towards it. She could feel a sudden nervousness hit her. All she needs is to go there and she would see Itachi again.

But, before she could even walk forward, she saw him.

Bewildered Emerald green eyes met dark pools of red.


	9. Two Faces of a Genius

**AN: **Thanks to my beta reader Mistress DragonFlame for editing this chapter and understanding my situation in school. :)

**Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine.**

**Chapter 9**

**Two Faces of a Genius**

Sakura wasn't expecting to see him right at the entrance of the

forest itself, but he was there nonetheless and he still exuded the same air of superiority just like before.

Itachi didn't make any effort to move. He just stood there, looking at her with those hypnotizing red eyes and Sakura could almost feel herself melt under his intense gaze. She didn't know how to react. All she knew was that she was very nervous.

It surprised her when he was the one who broke the silence. "You're… here." He stated flatly. There was a long pause between his words, Sakura noticed. Was he hesitant when he said those? Does that mean he actually cares about her? She shook her head. It was useless trying toread his thoughts. He was like a puzzle, an enigma that was impossible to solve.

He stay rooted to his own spot and watched her with genuine interest flickering in his eyes.

"You were here the whole time. It makes me wonder how you got here.You never knew the right way to this village, as you have never been here." It was a statement, not a question.

"I didn't wish to be here, but it looks like I'm beginning to like this village," she replied evenly, not telling him how she got to Konoha.

He didn't seem annoyed. "I'm not surprised. After all, you were once a citizen of the Hidden Sand village. I'd say you like living a peaceful life in a village rather than being a member of the Akatsuki." He walked toward her until he was just standing right in front of her.

"I should have known," he continued.

She gasped. "What do you mean?" Itachi was a genius and she would not be surprised in case he found out how she was able to go to Konoha."It has something to do with my brother. Am I right?" It was only asupposition but Itachi was really good at it.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Her tone was unrevealing, careful not to mention anything about the younger Uchiha for fear that it would create some unwanted reaction from Itachi. He never told her about his younger brother but then, it was already expected.

"Don't lie to me Sakura," he said forcefully as he took a step towards her, closing the distance between them.

"I...I'm…n…not...lying," she replied, stuttering. He really had a strong effect on her and she could feel herself becoming even more nervous as he went closer.

"You are really prone to trouble," he said as he raised his right hand and traced her lower lip with his thumb. It felt all too familiar to her. She couldn't take it all anymore. All the emotions she tried to hide the moment she saw him came spilling out of her.

"Itachi-kun, I missed you." She leaned her head on his chest and sobbed uncontrollably as if she had been denied of the thing she wanted the most. A part of her was telling her to end her feelings for him so that she could finally be able to live the life she had always wanted. Another part of her wanted to be with him, to be loved by him but she knew that would be impossible.

"I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to allow you to stay here in Konoha.You still have a duty as medic-nin for the Akatsuki. You are forever indebted to us." Somehow, she was surprised that he didn't make any move to push her away. He just stood there as stiff as stone, not comforting nor repelling.

Her crying soon died down after a few moments but she was still leaning on his chest. She couldn't help but think that he was saying that because he wanted her to stay. That he's only using her duty as a reason to hide his true feelings.

"Let's go." He said as he met her eyes as she raised her eyes. He didn't say anything about Sasuke anymore.

She meekly nodded her head before following him deep in the forest.If she would be honest with herself, she didn't want to go back to the Akatsuki. She just wanted to live a peaceful life with Itachi. She knew That it would be impossible, but she would still hold on to that dream.

No matter what happened.

-

Sasuke was once again training on his own. He wanted to go on a mission but the Hokage told them that they wouldn't be given any missions since there are only the two of them left in the team: Hinata and he.

Ever since the news of the Akatsuki going to Konoha for Naruto reached the village, almost everyone was alarmed. Jiraiya was asked to take Naruto away from the village. The blond insisted that he could very well protect himself, but the Hokage thought otherwise. They were dealing with an organization of missing nins and for sure, he wasn't strong enough to defeat them all. Hinata is his only teammate that was left in the village

and--

Fuck.

He needed to get strong dammit. He needed to kill his brother.

But then when he came to his mansion, why didn't he kill that bastard? He was asking for his own death and yet he didn't kill him. What has gotten into him anyway?

And then it hit him. Why would someone like his brother asked for his own death? Did he suddenly lose the reason to keep on living? It surprised him that he only thought about it now. It was just too ironic. It just doesn't make sense especially for an unfeeling mass murderer.

He was tried to put the pieces together. He needed to find out the cause why.

And because he's an Uchiha, it wouldn't be too long untill he found out.

-

Sasori just woke up from his sleep and thought he was just hallucinating when he saw Itachi with a certain pink-haired kunoichi behind him. He looked closely. He wasn't dreaming. She was really there. The first question that came in his mind was how she got there in the forest. He left her in the Uchiha mansion and yet she still found her way.

The Akatsuki members were all surprised to find her alive--and in the Konoha village nonetheless--but decided not to ask her any questions because of Itachi's presence. They knew how protective he was of his girlfriend. Kisame was the only one who dared to ask. Through the years, he had become a sort of older brother to her.

"Where have you been? We've been looking everywhere for you." he asked.

Sakura, who didn't know what to say, choose not to answer. If she did, she would probably end up with some lame excuse and would be asked with another question that was even harder to answer than the first.

Kisame was waiting for her answer as she fidgeted her fingers.

"Well?"

"She just came back so I don't think that this is the right time for asking questions." Itachi interrupted as he grabbed her wrist. "Excuse us I need to talk to my girlfriend alone," And with that,he pulled her away from them to the other part of the forest. As they passed by, he saw Sasori glaring at him from the top of a tree and he smirked.

For a moment, Sakura wanted to believe his words. She wanted to be his girl friend for real but then, she had to face the truth that they were just pretending.

-

"Sasuke-san?" a familiar soft voice snapped him out of his reverie.He looked behind him. Onyx eyes met pearly white.

"What is it?" he asked, rather annoyed with the interruption.

Hinata sensed the impatience and irritation in his voice. She knew that she came at the wrong time but she just couldn't help it.

"It's about Sakura-san,"

His brows furrowed. She interrupted his training just for that girl? Did Hinata actually thought he cares about whatever happens to that pink-haired girl? Well, the answer was no.

"What about her? Did she loose her way again?" He asked in an uncaring tone as he picked up some of the kunais from the ground.

"She went to the forest this morning and…" for some reasons, she couldn't get the words out. She was wondering how her teammate would react if she told him about the Akatsuki.

"Damn it, what is it?" He was growing impatient by the second.

"I was worried because there are some rumors that the Akatsuki organization is staying there,"

He clenched his fists. The Akatsuki organization might be there. That means, his brother might be there too. Now was his chance. He could finally be able to kill him.

She became scared when she saw her activate the sharingan. He looked angry and unforgiving that she immediately regret that she told him that.

He started to walk away and she noticed that it was the direction towards the forest. She wanted to go after him and stop him but she was really scared because he looked like he's ready to kill someone.

-

Sakura wondered why Itachi wanted to talk to her alone. She stared at him as if trying to read every change of expression.

"What do you want to say?" she asked.

"I just wanted you to do something,"

"What is it?" she asked. He never trusted before. He even preferred that she always stays at the Akatsuki base rather than make her join the missions. So, why start now?

"I want you to spy for us," he said bluntly.

Her mouth opened in surprise. That was definitely the last thing she expected him to say. "Spy? Does that mean……"

"You will stay in Konoha and give us some information about the holder of the kyuubi,"

"But why me?" she asked, still not believing him. Was it a joke? Unfortunately for her, Uchiha Itachi had a poor sense of humor if there is at all.

"Because they already trust you,"

She shook her head. "I don't want to do that. They helped me." She said firmly.

"You must and you will. Have you forgotten? Your duty is to the Akatsuki and not to the citizens of that village"

She was taken aback by his words. How in the world could he ask her to do that? Those people were the ones who helped her and now he's asking him to betray them? No, she wouldn't do it.

"The Akatsuki helped you too when you have nowhere to go," he reminded her.

She couldn't take the conversation anymore. Her hands clenched into fists. She felt angry but fought the urge to yell at him.She needed to do something to escape it and she had to do it now or else she would be force to make a decision and it's either she betrays the village or disobey Itachi's command.

"It's useless sending me as a spy. Naruto is not in Konoha anymore. Someone was protecting him and he's a powerful shinobi. There, I said it. I hope you're happy now," she said as she tried to jerk her wrist away from his rather firm grip. It was no use. He was stronger.

"Where are you going? I'm not yet finished talking to you," With that, he pulled her closer to him and she just found herself leaning on his chest with one of his arms, wrapped tightly around her waist. She fought the urge to blush at the sudden contact but found it hard to do so.

He smirked when he saw her reaction

"I guess I don't have to worry that something has changed in you when you were gone. You act and look absolutely the same," he said as he released his hold on her.

She didn't know why but she felt that he was a different person whenever he held her in his arms. It's as if she could feel certain warmness from him.

"Where's your cloak?" he asked out of nowhere which snapped her out of her thoughts.

"It was…lost," She wasn't lying. She had really no idea where the cloak is. She had lost it and had forgotten where she had last seen it.

"I want you to get another one as soon as we return to the Akatsuki base. Black fits you better." He said as he walked away, leaving her staring at his retreating back in confusion as he didn't push the topic about her spying for the Akatsuki anymore.


	10. Confession

**Disclaimer: This is applied to this chapter and the next chapter to this. I don't own Naruto. Thanks to my beta by the way.**

**Chapter 10**

**Confession**

"Let's go back to the others. I have an important announcement to say." He turned around and went back to where they came from with Sakura trailing after him.

She walked faster, trying to keep up with his strides. He hadn't changed a bit, she thought as she studied his profile from behind.

She couldn't resist the smile that suddenly crossed her features. She was angry with him a while ago but this was Itachi she's talking about and it is hard for her to be angry with him for a long period of time.

-

He was near to his destination. A few moments to go and he would see him again. His hands were shaking in anticipation. He was only a few minutes away from fulfilling his ultimate goal. That is, if he was strong enough to kill him now.

He did he not kill Itachi when they met at the mansion and asked him to take his life. Why?

He had three reasons. He trained so hard to be stronger because he wanted to kill him in a fight till death.

Itachi wanted Sasuke to end his life at that moment, and if Sasuke did it that meant he would give Itachi what he wanted. Itachi's satisfaction was never his goal in life.

Third, he thought, had something to do with reverse psychology. Somehow, when Itachi told him to end his life, he felt like doing the opposite at that moment.

Now, it was different.

"Where do you think you'e going, Uchiha?" Neji was in front him, blocking his way.

"None of your business, Hyuuga," Sasuke snapped, glaring at him, with blood red eyes, his lust for blood growing by the second. Neji could feel his chakra rising.

"The Hokage already find out what you're panning to do,Hinata was the one who told him.

"Are you here to stop me?"

"The truth is, I don't care what you do Uchiha, but Hokage-sama told me to stop you whatever the cost is so that's what I'm here for."

"Well then, let me inform you that any one who stopped me would die," He gathered chakra around his palm and charged toward him. It was not chidori. He planned to reserve that technique for Itachi later.

Neji could tell that Sasuke was out of himself at the moment, and that it was useless taking to him. He activated his byakugan, and got into a defense position, preparing himself for the bow while making a plan in his mind on how to defeat the Uchiha.

-

The members of the Akatsuki gathered in one place. Itachi before them, with Sakura standing beside him.

"Unexpectedly, the Hokage found out that we were here, so we need to abandon this mission for now."

This was met with some violent reactions and raised brows. Itachi was not the person to abandon important missions such as this. He must have a good reason.

"The holder of the kyuubi is not in the village anymore and we don't know where he is. In order not to waste our time, we go to the village of Suna for another mission."

"But why? It would be easier if we would just look for some information about the holder's whereabouts rather than start another mission again." Kisame interjected.

"The Hokage might send some ANBUs to look for us."

"Then that's good. We could fight them and torture them for some information regarding the Kyuubi's vessel."

"That's not necessary. The goal of the Akatsuki is to look for the Kyuubi. He's not here so we don't have reason to stay longer. There's another Jinchuuriki in Suna whose power is almost the same as that of the Kyuubi."

His explanation made perfect sense to them.

"We're leaving later at night. We shouldn't risk being seen,"

-

Neji flew backwards, hitting a tree. They were already at the clearing of the forest. He clutched his left arm as blood trickled down from it. It was badly injured when he used it to block Sasuke's attack. It seemed that the Uchiha had gotten a lot better since the last time they fought. His chakra control improved a great deal.

Or, was it just his hatred for his brother that made him stronger?

Sasuke smirked triumphantly. With an injured arm, it would be impossible for the Hyuuga to perform handseals.

"You're no fun at all. You're too weak. I shouldn't have expected much. After all, you're just a lowly Hyuuga branch member," he scoffed.

That hit a nerve. Neji hated it when the subject of him being a branch member comes up. He would show this Uchiha what he was looking for. He could not move his left arm but it's all right. He still had his right arm and it was already enough to disable a ninja's chakra points. But first, he had to think of a way to get closer to him.

Sasuke performed handseals and the next thing Neji saw were fireballs heading straight toward him.

He jumped on the branch of the tree he was leaning at, dodging the fireballs with ease. When he looked back, he was surprised that Sasuke wasn't there anymore. He realized that he just used the attack to distract him.

With fast movements, Sasuke suddenly appeared behind him.

"Too slow, Hyuuga," Sasuke smirked. He was about to hit Neji at the back of his head but with fast reflexes, Neji turned around just in time and caught Sasuke's wrist with his uninjured arm.

Still gripping Sasuke's wrist, he used his knee, to deliver a blow to Sasuke's gut, which caused him to fall down the tree. It took a while before he could stand up completely and Neji took this as an opportunity. He jumped and landed down right in front of Sasuke and, using his right hand, he quickly disabled all of Sasuke's chakra points that were within his reach, mostly the chakra points located in his right arm. Neji was too fast that Sasuke had no more time to retaliate.

With all of his strength left, Neji delivered a powerful blow on Sasuke's jaw. Thankfully, it was enough to render him unconscious. Probably it was because he poured almost all of his chakra on that final attack.

Neji sighed. He definitely needed some help in carrying him to the Hokage's office.

-

Kisame smirked when he saw Sakura sitting on one of the tree branches and leaning on its trunk, looking bored then ever because Itachi once again didn't appoint her a job to do. They would leave at nighttime so they still have half of the day to wait. The other members were standing guard in case of any surprise attacks.

"Sakura,"

She looked down at the shark man who was grinning maniacally. She gulped. She knew that look. Kisame wanted to bully her again. He always does that whenever he's bored. Probably it was because she's the only one in the Akatsuki who could tolerate it.

Before she knew it, Kisame was already beside her.

"I'm bored," he started.

"What do you want?" she averted her eyes for she knew he would pester her again just like what she also does to him whenever she felt like it.

"Ne, Sakura, I'll ask you some questions and you answer them," he said mischievously. She was starting to have a bad feeling about this.

"It depends on the questions you'll ask,"

He seemed satisfied enough with her answer.

"All right. Let's see. What should I ask?" he placed his chin onto his hand in a thinking position.

He coughed before starting. "Did you and Itachi already kissed?"

"Hey, that's too confidential" She and Itachi hadn't kissed. That's normal. After all, they were just pretend couples and it was just a one-sided love but Kisame didn't know that. And now that she thought about it, she realized that Sasori was actually the man who stole her first kiss. She was disappointed with that because she really wanted her first kiss to be with Itachi. But, as much as she hated to admit it, Sasori was a good kisser. Too bad she didn't enjoy it, having pushed him away immediately.

He looked at him, still expecting an answer even if she already made it clear that she wouldn't tell him anything.

"Kisame, it was your turn to guard the place," They both looked down to see Sasori leaning on the tree they were sitting at, looking at them. But to Sakura, it seemed as if his gaze was directed toward her. She quickly looked away, uncomfortable with his presence.

Kisame was not pleased with the interruption but followed nonetheless. "I guess we'll just have to continue this conversation later," with that, he jumped down and disappeared from view.

She thought that Sasori would follow him but he still remained on the spot where he was standing at a while ago. Normally, she would talk to him and he would respond in just a few words. Like Itachi, he also didn't like talking that much.

She inwardly scolded herself for comparing them. There was no competition between them because if there was, Itachi would definitely win hands down.

"You look like you're in deep thought," Sasori commented from down the tree. She was startled that he was the first one to talk. She didn't know what to say.

Sasori appeared beside her. He occupied the place where Kisame used to sit.

"Are you still angry with me?â€ he asked.

His closeness was making her uneasy. She looked away and didn't reply.

"If only I made a move sooner than him, you should have been mine,"

Sakura was more surprised than ever. Sasori was no doubt, talking about her. And he just indirectly told her that he wanted her to be with him and not with Itachi. She felt her heart beat faster when she looked at him. He appeared more serious than ever. He had watched Sakura grew up into a fine, young woman. She was no longer the scared little girl who was taken in by the Akatsuki. Everything about her had changed. She may not know it but she had actually become stronger especially when she started training with Kisame. Her skills in healing also improved a great deal.

"But, I'm still not giving up," he was still looking at her intensely, his eyes, showing fierce determination.

He was tempted to kiss her again, but fought the urge to do so. Itachi was around, and would _not_ like that.


	11. Of Alcohol and Women

**AN: thanks to my beta for thic chapter... **

**Chapter 11**

**Of Alcohol and Women**

It would take three days for them to reach Suna. The first day, they traveled through the mountains, stopping only to rest for the night and to eat. There wasn't a problem with food, for they always made it a point to bring some with them during long journeys. Unfortunately, what they brought was only enough for two days. Whether they like it or not, they needed to stop by a village to get some supplies, more importantly for water, for the third day where they would pass through the desert before finally arriving at the village of Suna.

Luckily, on the second night, they came across a village. It was one of those few villages that were inhabited purely by civilians, which was good for the Akatsuki was known only to the ninja populated countries. Its presence was kept a secret from these villages because almost all of the clients of ninjas came from these places. If these civilians find out that a ninja organization consisting of S-class criminals exists, they might become afraid and not hire ninja's anymore.

It was almost dark when they entered the village. They earned a lot of frightened looks as they passed. Sakura couldn't blame them. Indeed, with the matching black cloaks and the different weapons they carry who wouldn't be suspicious? Add to that the fact that ninjas rarely came to this country.

They ignored them and went on their way. The villagers seemed to relax when the group of strangers didn't do anything and just passed by peacefully.

Itachi stopped in his tracks.

"All of us will meet again outside the village after this," he commanded

With that said, the members spit up into groups and went on their way to do the tasks assigned to them which were to gather food, water, and some medical supplies.

Sakura looked at Itachi, who stood in front her. They were the only ones who did not move off to a task.

"Ne, Itachi-kun, where are we going?" she asked. He didn't assign her a task. When she asked him why, he said that all the tasks were already taken and nothing was left for her. Somehow, there was a nagging thought at the back of her mind that Itachi was only saying that because he thought that she was useless and could not do anything to help the organization.

"Follow me," he said and started to walk away from her.

Sakura walked after and slowed down when she finally reached his side.

"Where are we going?" she asked, aware that he also had nothing to do, which she thought, was so unlike him.

He didn't reply.

She was already tired, but she kept on walking toward their unknown destination when she heard her own stomach rumbled. It was already late in the evening and as far as she could remember, the last time they ate food was this morning, about ten hours ago. Unlike the others who ate a lot that morning, she only ate a little.

A few minutes passed when he finally stopped.

She looked around and noticed that they were standing in front of a small traditional restaurant. For a moment, she just stood there looking at him, wondering what he was up to.

He walked forward until he stood in front the door and pushed it open. Then, he looked back at her and motioned her to come inside. Still confused, she went inside, with him behind her.

He put an arm on her shoulder as he guided her to one of the empty tables with two chairs. Hesitantly, she sat down on one of them. Why did he bring her here? She had no idea. Of course, it's a restaurant and people go there to eat. Well, that was what normal people would usually do. Well, Itachi was not normal. ...It's just that that well… he's different from the others.

"Ne, Itachi-kun Why are we here?" She asked

"To eat. Why, are you not hungry?" He asked as he gave her a blank look.

"Well yes I am, but why now? I mean, we could wait for the others and then eat with them, right?" She suggested. She felt uneasy being with him alone in this place for they looked as if they're a couple out on a date.

"I heard your stomach rumbling a couple of times so I decided to treat you some food,"

She almost gaped at him. Were her ears playing tricks on her or what? No. She really heard him say it. It was strange.

But she was glad nonetheless.

-

"I'm bored," Kisame stated as he and Sasori looked around the place. They finally finished buying some medical supplies so they decided to go back, only to find out that no one else was there yet. They were the first one to finish their tasks.

"You always are," Sasori pointed out dully.

He ignored his comment. "Sasori, let's do something worthwhile. I hate waiting."

He raised his brows "What's your plan?"

He smirked. "Well, I was thinking of going to the bar. You know, the one we passed by a while ago. Do you remember that? There might be some beautiful women in it. Let's check them out,"

He turned his back on him. "I remembered that. I'm not going,"

"Eh? Just a while ago, you looked like you were willing to go. Don't worry. We are not going to do anything wrong. We are just going to drink a little bit of sake and watch some women perform on stage,"

"No," he said firmly.

"You're no fun at all." Then, as if realizing something, he smirked. "I bet you don't want to go there because you're not interested in looking at other women anymore. Am I right?"

He received no reply. "Oh well, people tend to be shy sometimes," he said which earned him a death glare from the man beside him.

"I guess I have to go now,"

-

After eating, both Itachi and Sakura walked back to the place where they all agreed to meet each other. When they came upon the place, they saw that almost all of the members were there with all the supplies. Only one person was missing.

"Where is Kisame?" Itachi asked once he saw that Sasori, who was supposed to be with Kisame, was there.

"He told me that he will be gone for a while and that he will be back soon," he answered with a few chosen words, careful as to not say anything about the "bar" part. He knew that Itachi would not like it if he found out where Kisame really went. It wasn't that he actually cared, really, but if Itachi found out he didn't do anything to stop the sharkman? That was something he didn't wish to experience.

"We need to find him now. If we want to arrive at the village earlier, we should leave soon. Do you know where he went?"

Well, he asked, can't avoid it now. "He told me he will go to a bar near here,"

"Tell me the directions. I'll be the one to go there," He listened to the crisp directions, before turning and heading off where Kisame was.

Sakura thought about it. A bar? That means there would be people drinking sake and there would be women. If Itachi would go there, she was pretty sure there would be women who would try to flirt with him.

"Itachi-kun, wait, I want to go with you," Sakura ran up to him. She knew he would allow her to. He never refused any of her requests whenever they were in front the others.

He nodded and waited for her to catch up with him.

-

"Ooohhh where are you going? I thought you were going to stay longer," a woman sitting on Kisame's lap purred seductively as she leaned closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I thought you wanted to have some fun with me tonight," she cooed.

Kisame sigh. This was one of the things he was trying to avoid. These prostitutes flirted with all kinds of men and lure them into bed with them for money. Yes, all they wanted was the money they would get for the extra services they would offer. Don't get him wrong though. He absolutely loved attention from the opposite sex. What he hated was women who are too clingy and who still insists on doing something even after he already said no.

"No thanks, but I really needed to go," he needed to hurry or else Itachi would find out about this. He was having too much fun drinking sake just awhile ago that he forgot that he was supposed to stay for only a short period of time.

He decided it's best if he should go now. He began to pry the woman away from him.

-

"He's here," Itachi and Sakura followed Sasori's directions until they came across a bar.

Sakura scooted closer to Itachi when she noticed many women standing around them, all of them wearing revealing tops and skimpy skirts. Most of them had their eyes directed towards the man standing beside her. She didn't like it one bit.

She was grateful that he wasn't paying any attention to them. Instead, he went inside the bar without even sparing any of the women a single glance.

-

Kisame was too busy getting the woman away from him that he didn't even felt two familiar chakras entered the place.

Sakura glanced at Itachi, wondering what he would do. He just stood there and looked at the Shark Akatsuki member. He still had no idea that they were there, for he was too preoccupied in prying the woman off him.

After a few moments, Itachi walked over to the two.

"Kisame, I thought I told all of you to come back on time," Kisame froze. He knew that voice.

"Itachi," he turned his head around and saw him standing there with Sakura beside him. He knew they came for him.

Forgetting the prospect of being gentle, he forcefully pushed the slut away from him, turned around to face them, and laughed sheepishly, as if he was a child caught doing something bad. Sakura stifled a laugh. Typical Kisame, she thought.

"Hey, that was so mean," the woman pouted but he just ignored her.

"What do you think you're doing, delaying the mission like that?" Itachi's voice was laced with danger. He was not pleased with what Kisame did. Sakura looked worried.

"Hey you shark man, you didn't tell me you have such a hot friend." The woman managed to stand up and walked over to Itachi. She stood in front him and gave him a sexy smile.

"Wanna go with me? I'll offer you a special discount..." she said seductively. It seemed she would not pass the opportunity to bed a hot guy. No, that was an understatement. He was one delicious and mysterious hot guy.

Sakura eyed the woman with distaste, wanting to rip her off him but, to her surprise, was beat to it by none other than Itachi himself.

"I'm not interested," he said in a cold voice.

"Lets go back," he looked pointedly at Kisame.

Then, he grabbed Sakura's wrist.

"You're getting too much attention," he said in a calm and collected voice as he pointed to a group of guys who were looking at the pink-haired beauty as if trying to undress her with their eyes.

Then, he dragged her out of the bar with Kisame trailing after them.

Sakura sigh. Now that was finished, they were finally on their way to their next mission to Suna.

Her hometown.


End file.
